Duty of the Heart
by Karine1
Summary: Aragorn and Legolas find a young orphan in the wood and decide to bring him to rivendell. His new life now begin. But, for that, he must survive the trip first...Chapter 8 REPOST due to missing scene and chapter 9 added
1. A child in the wood

**Title: Duty of the Heart   
Authors: TrinityTheSheDevil and Karine  
Archive: Just ask.  
Rating: PG 13 for the content in later chapters. A chance it could lean towards R rated.  
Disclaimer: Well, Trin doesn't own them. Karine says she does. But we all know she's lying. We do however, own a cloning machine. And we make good use of that cloning machine. *evil chuckles from both authors*  
Summary: When Aragorn and Legolas find a young orphan in the woods, they decide to bring him with them to Rivendell. This may be the beginning of a new life for the child. But, for his new life to begin, he must survive the trip first...**  
  
Aragorn had been in the wilds for a couple of years now. At one point, as he was passing through Mirkwood forest, he decided to go pay his friend Legolas a visit. When he arrived, Legolas announced to him that he was leaving; he had to go to Rivendell to deliver a message to Elrond. Aragorn, who had not been to his home for a long time, decided that he would go with him. They were now near the Misty Mountain, they decided to make camp for the night and wait for dawn to travel the Redhorn Pass.  
  
Aragorn looked up at his elven friend from where he sat, poking at the fire. It was a quiet night. Too quiet. Legolas obviously felt it too, for he stood with his back straight as an arrow. He looked upwards, and smiled inwardly. The stars were like candles, dotted against the inky black sky, and shown brightly to his mortal eyes.   
  
Standing up to brush his horse down, Aragorn jumped when he heard a small cry. He took off into the woods, with Legolas hot on his heels.  
  
They ran as fast as they could toward the cry. Both being warriors, they knew that a cry in the woods was never a good thing and that it should never be ignored. What they saw when they arrived at a small clearing broke their hearts.  
  
A small boy of maybe five years old was sitting on the ground, hand around his knees and he was crying desperately. They both approached the boy, and they were concerned when the boy didn't stir as Aragorn took him in his arms. They brought him to their camp, with Legolas was singing a child lullaby in elvish all the way back. When they arrived, they put the now sleeping child in one of their bedrolls.  
  
Aragorn wondered how such a small child could be in the wilderness, alone. His parents must be extremely worried. Aragorn grabbed his saddle bag and searched for some Lembas bread. The boy looked malnourished, and would probably be very hungry when he awoke.   
  
Settling down beside the boy, the Ranger looked him over for any injuries he could have sustained while in the wilds. It was a miracle that the child had stayed alive this long. His sand colored hair was matted down with mud, twigs, and other various things one would find on a forest floor. The small arms and legs were covered in filth, and his clothing hung in rags about his tiny frame. Finding no outward sign of a serious injury, Aragorn sighed and waited for the child to awaken.  
  
The boy began to thrash in his sleep and before they could reach him, he sat up startled. He looked at them and his eyes widened. Fear, confusion and worry etched all over his features.   
  
"What....what do you want with me?" He whispered in a shaking voice.   
  
"We just want to help you little one." Legolas said in his musical voice while Aragorn nodded his approval.   
  
The child seemed to relaxed a little but he still didn't trust them completely. Aragorn then asked what he was doing in the woods alone and it took a little time for the child to answer. When he did, tears were pouring down his cheeks.   
  
"We were living in a small house, my father and mother and me. One night we were attacks by big ugly monsters and I escaped just like my father told me. But my parents didn't escape and when I came back to my house, their eyes were close and I couldn't wake them, so I left." The child seemed to count on his fingers before adding. "It's been 14 days since I left them and I'm all alone." The child broke down and began sobbing loudly.   
  
Legolas, who was closer to him, took him in his arms and told him,  
  
"Fear not young one, for we are here now and we won't let you down." He looked at the elf then the human back and for a minute, his mood had seem to lighten a bit from the elf words. He finally said.   
  
"You two make an odd pair."   
  
"Oh really?" Legolas ask, his eyebrow shooting up. "Well, we do not take insult lightly from a boy like you. Do you want to know what we do to them?"   
  
The child didn't have the time to answer because Aragorn had come to their side and said grinning.   
  
"We tickle them!"   
  
The child laughed and giggles could be heard everywhere and it warmed their hearts.  
  
After the small tickle fest, Aragorn sat the boy down beside him.  
  
"Are you hungry?"   
  
The boy nodded. "Yeah! I could eat a horse I'm so hungry!"   
  
Aragorn laughed. "I don't think my horse would appreciate that. But, I do have some Lembas bread here."  
  
The boy took the bread, and devoured it. Aragorn wondered if he had inhaled it, as fast as the bread disappeared.   
  
After the boy had finished, and drank his fill of water, Aragorn asked him,  
  
"So, what's your name?"  
  
The boy sat for a moment, and turned to the two travelers.  
  
"Elrond."   
  
Aragorn blinked. "Elrond? Really? And why is that?"  
  
"Because......I'm tall. And pretty. And a mighty warrior. And........I am brave. And I have really scary eyebrows."  
  
Aragorn choked on the bread he was eating at that last remark. "Where *cough* did you hear all this from?"  
  
"My pa told me. He said that Lord Elrond is one of the bravest Elves around!"  
  
"Well," Aragorn laughed slightly, "I happen to know Elrond. So you can't be him."  
  
"REALLY? Is he really brave and tall?" The child looked at Aragorn in wonderment.   
  
"Yeah, he is. And, I'll take you to meet him. But I have to know your name first."   
  
"Thomas, son of Thalion. But everyone calls me Tommy." Tommy smiled widely at Aragorn, showing two missing front teeth.  
  
Aragorn sucked in a breath. Thalion. He knew that name. It was the name of one of the Rangers who he had fought with. Aragorn felt the blow to his heart, as he realized that Thalion was dead. The boy now had no one to look after him, for Thalion and his wife had no other family. It would be up to him to care for his friends child. It was the least he could do, as he wasn't there to save the child's father.   
  
"Well Tommy, my name is Strider. The Elf sitting behind you is Legolas. How would you like to go to Rivendell, to meet Lord Elrond, with us?"  
  
Tommy nodded, and leaned sleepily on the rangers shoulder.   
  
Tomorrow, they would set out for Rivendell. The child would stay with Aragorn, until something could be thought up. These thoughts weighed heavily on the rangers mind, as he drifted off to sleep.  
  
**End of chapter one. More to come! Reviews are welcome!**


	2. Deadly Games

**Chapter Two   
Story Title: Duty Of The Heart   
Chapter Title: Deadly Games 2/?  
Authors: (The Evil) TrinityTheSheDevil and (Cliffie Queen) Karine  
Archive: Just ask!  
Feedback: Yes please!  
Disclaimer: We don't own them! We like to pet them, and love them, and torture them though! :) Summary: When Aragorn and Legolas find a young orphan in the woods, they decide to bring him with them to Rivendell. This may be the beginning of a new life for the child. But, for his new life to begin, he must survive the trip first...**  
  
  
Both Aragorn and Legolas had been awake by dawn and were now wondering if they should wake the little boy. He looked so peaceful now that he was finally asleep. Terrible nightmares had kept him awake for most of the night and they had both taken turns to comfort him. A couple of hours before dawn, Thomas had finally drift off to sleep. The boy ended their internal struggling when he woke up by himself.  
  
Aragorn smiled as the boy awoke and rubbed at his eyes. He glanced around before looking at the ranger, and said, "When are we going to see the Elf Lord?"   
  
Laughing, Aragorn gently pulled the boy to his feet. "After you wash up, and we eat breakfast."  
  
Thomas nodded, and walked off towards a small stream that flowed nearby. Aragorn caught Legolas giving him a small smile.  
  
"What are you smiling for, Elf?"   
  
"Nothing human. You have.....a way with children." Legolas tilted his head to the side. "Though, I suppose it's because you're not that far removed."  
  
  
  
Aragorn growled and chucked a pebble at the Elf's head. Legolas ducked, and stuck his tongue out at his friend.   
  
"Yes, by that you mean I'm not over the hill and full of grey hair. Like a certain Mirkwood elf I know."  
  
Legolas put a hand to his hair before stopping and glaring at Aragorn. Muttering a dwarvish curse under his breath, he promised himself to get revenge on the silly human.  
  
Thomas entered the camp and watched Aragorn snickering silently at a glowering elf. Shrugging to himself, he sat down and helped himself to a breakfast.   
  
After breakfast, Aragorn set off on his horse with Thomas in front of him. The boy asked the Ranger and Elf all kinds of questions. Where they had been, what they had done, how many Orcs they had killed, and the like. They answered them, yet left out the more gory parts.   
  
Around lunch time, they had decided to eat on the road. Nibbling on some dried meat, the boy sighed to himself.  
  
"Are we there yet?"  
  
"Not yet." Aragorn answered, drinking some water.  
  
A few minutes passed and they finished off lunch. Looking towards the sky, it seemed the boy had ran out of questions.  
  
"Are we there yet?"  
  
"No, not yet."   
  
"Are you sure?"  
  
"Yes, I'm sure. We still have a while yet to go." Aragorn glared at Legolas, who was now snickering.  
  
Ten minutes passed, and Aragorn thought that the boy was dozing.  
  
"Are we there yet?"  
  
Aragorn smacked Legolas who had a sudden coughing fit.   
  
"No, it will be a long time. I will let you know when we get there, okay?"   
  
The boy nodded. A few more minutes passed, and he sat up. Aragorn groaned.  
  
"I have to go to the bathroom."  
  
Legolas almost fell off the horse laughing.  
  
Since the boy had not slept much during the night, they decided to take a small break to let the child take a nap on the ground. Thomas had not appreciated the idea, but he was asleep in minutes.   
  
"This child has so much energy in him, he's nearly annoying." Aragorn exclaimed.   
  
"Yes, he's like a small boy I know." Legolas said grinning while Aragorn glared at him.   
  
An hour passed and the boy finally awoke. They decided to take a little snack before continuing their trip so they wouldn't have to stop before sundown.   
  
Aragorn laughed at the tale that Legolas was telling Thomas. It was about one of their previous adventures when the ranger was but a small child. A very embarrising story for Aragorn, that involved a pin cushion, bottle of wine, and some scissors.  
  
Thomas laughed out loud as Legolas got to the end.  
  
"Did you really do that Strider?" The boy turned around and looked at him.  
  
"Yes, but I was very very young. And it was Legolas' fault!"  
  
"Was not! You're the one who jumped on Elladan."  
  
"It was YOUR idea."  
  
Thomas laughed again as the two bantered with each other. They were highly amusing to watch, especially when they acted like 8 year olds.  
  
They rode for the day, and only stopped when the sun had almost finished setting.  
  
Aragorn lifted Thomas off the horse.  
  
"Now, I want you to sit right here until Legolas and I set up camp. Okay?"  
  
The boy nodded, and Aragorn walked over the help Legolas.  
  
Thomas was bored; the setting up of a camp was very boring to watch for him. And besides the story, he had had no fun at all today! He already knew that his new friends liked to have fun, so he decided that they should play hide-and-seek. Being a 5 years old child, asking permission before doing something was an unknown principle. So, he got up and yelled,   
  
"Can't catch me!" With that said, he took off in the woods, leaving a dumbfounded elf and ranger behind.   
  
They had no other choice but to go after him, all the way cursing in all known languages and swearing to tie him on the horse next time. The boy was hiding very well from them and after at least ten minutes, they still didn't have him. What they heard in the following minutes froze the blood in their veins, for they heard the little boy yelling for help, followed by the howling of a pack of wargs.  
  
  
  
_Trin Says : Blame Karine for the cliffie!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! IT'S ALL HER FAULT! *hides behind Karine* Please don't kill us!!!!! ;)  
  
TBC.........sometime sooner or later ;)_  
  
  
**REVIEWS! -   
  
Goblz: The clone is not a whimp, you are mean that is why =P. Thanks, we're glad that you like it :D All I can tell you is that it will get much worse before its better.   
  
Wilwarin: We're glad that you liked the beginning :D.  
  
Pheonix-Dragon: Thanks :D We're both hard on ourselves and we truly appreciate when we get review like your :D. Well, I guess that two days wasn't a long wait, but you'll wish for chapter 3 sooner now I guess *grin*.  
  
Lady of Legolas: We're glad to have spiked your curiosity :D. I can tell you that you'll be much more intrigue after our cliffie.....uh...I meant CHAPTER. *grin***   
  



	3. Trouble

** Story Title: Duty Of The Heart   
Chapter Title: Trouble 3/?  
Authors: (The Evil) TrinityTheSheDevil and (Cliffie Queen) Karine  
Archive: Just ask!  
Feedback: Yes please!  
Disclaimer: Own them? Us? No..we don't own them! *cough*..*pushes Aragorn back into closet* Git in there! *ahem* We don't own them. At all. ;)   
Summary: When Aragorn and Legolas find a young orphan in the woods, they decide to bring him with them to Rivendell. This may be the beginning of a new life for the child. But, for his new life to begin, he must survive the trip first...**  
  
  
**Chapter Three**   
  
Aragorn struggled to run through the brush, but it seemed to grasp his legs and threaten to topple him. Legolas had taken to the trees to reach the wargs from above. Aragorn could hear the light footsteps of the elf jumping from limb to limb.  
  
His pace quickened as he heard another snarl. They weren't too far now. Aragorn hoped the boy was alright, he'd never forgive himself if something happened to him.  
  
After what seemed like forever, he finally cleared the brush and gasped at the sight in the clearing before him. Five massive wargs had surrounded Thomas, and were ready to pounce on the terrified boy.  
  
Giving a fierce battle yell, Aragorn jumped into the ring of beasts. He swung his sword wide, catching one in the eyes. The warg yelped, and pawed at his face. Another took its place and snapped at Thomas, who shrank behind the ranger.  
  
Bringing his sword up, Aragorn jabbed it between the warg's eyes. Hearing a small whistle above him, Aragorn risked a peak upwards and saw Legolas hanging by his knees from one of the limbs. The elf was motioning for Thomas.  
  
Aragorn swung his sword around and the wargs scattered for a second, giving Aragorn enough time to toss Thomas to Legolas in the safety of the tree.  
  
As soon as the boy left his arms, the wargs had sprang up and attacked. One knocked Aragorn from behind, and pinned him to the ground. Aragorn felt hot breath on the back of his neck, and screamed as a set of razor sharp teeth sunk into his shoulder.  
  
Legolas had seen the warg jumping towards Aragorn, but he couldn't do anything while he had the child in is arm. So he put the child safely in the branch and went back to the now enraged wargs just in time to shoot one who had pinned Aragorn to the ground. He also shot two others from where he was, killing them both with two deadly bolts. He couldn't help Aragorn with the other two for he didn't have a firing range and he didn't want too be far from the terrified boy.  
  
While Legolas had fared good, Aragorn on the other had, had not. As soon as the warg on his back was dead, Aragorn got up, slowly and painfully, and immediately went back into action. Fortunately the warg hadn't ripped his sword arm, so he was more accurate, but at each time he hit something, a an excruciating wave of pain pass through his body. But his rage kept him going, for these wargs had nearly killed the boy and that was a forbidden thought to him. He finally managed to kill the two wargs that were around him.   
  
Aragorn gasped, and fell to his knees. The adrenaline that had fueled his attack was now wearing off, and the pain was catching up to him. The world blurred and tilted, until Aragorn thought he was going to be sick.  
  
He heard Legolas speaking to him, but the elf sounded far away. The pain was his world now, every fiber of his being was crying out. He felt a small hand on his shoulder, and a voice ask him,   
  
"Strider, are you okay?"  
  
The world snapped into focus and the pain receded a bit. Grey eyes met small blue worried ones. Not able to speak at the moment, Aragorn nodded and tried to breathe through the excruciating throbbing in his shoulder.  
  
"Mellon nin, can you walk? We must move quickly before any other wargs arrive." Legolas slowly helped Aragorn in a standing position.  
  
"I am.....okay. For the moment. I will be able to walk." Aragorn smiled at Thomas to ease the boys worries.  
  
"You were so brave Strider! Those mean, nasty wolves were trying to eat me! But you came and hit them all with your sword, and then Legolas shot them with his bow! I was really really scared too, but I knew you would find me, cuz you're a Ranger. My Pa said that Rangers will always be there when you need them." Thomas hugged Aragorn lightly around his middle.   
  
Aragorn wished he could say the same thing. If Rangers were always there when you needed them, then why wasn't he there for Thalion and his wife? No, Aragorn wasn't a Ranger. And if he couldn't even protect his fellow Rangers, how could anyone expect him to be King?   
  
Putting these thoughts out of his mind for the moment, Aragorn slowly led Legolas and the boy to a safe cave that wasn't too far from the clearing.   
  
********************  
  
After Legolas had gotten a fire going, he immediately began to treat Aragorn's injuries. The injury was quite grievous, but it would heal well in a weeks time. Although Legolas tried to be as gentle as possible, sometimes Aragorn couldn't help but wince because of the pain. An each time Aragorn did, Thomas would say in a soothing voice,   
  
"Don't worry Strider, it's almost over. Not too far to go."   
  
Legolas could help but snickering each time the boy said it and each time it would earn him a dark glare from the ranger. Legolas finally finished binding his friend's wound and he imposed rest on him.   
  
After staying in the cave for two days, they broke camp and prepared themselves to leave.  
  
**********   
  
Galadriel was watching her mirror, and what she saw made her gasp. She went to Celeborn's side and nearly yelled at their messenger.   
  
"Send words to Rivendell by hawk, it is an emergency. Have Elrond know that sometime terrible is about to befall Aragorn and Prince Legolas."   
  
*********  
  
Ug-Lee was leading his troop through the forest as they were looking for fresh meat. It had now been nearly a month since they had some and they were craving for it. Suddenly, he stop walking and one of his lieutenant asked him.   
  
"What is it?"   
  
"Man flesh" The leader said. "We must be as soundless as possible, we may be able to get them unaware, and then we'll have some fun."   
  
The troop roared in approval.   
  
*********  
  
Aragorn, Legolas and Thomas had just gotten off of the cave when Legolas picked up the sound orcs' steps and immediately told Aragorn. It would do them no good to run, nor hide, for their first priority was Thomas' safety. So they put him in the cave, hid the entrance, and got ready for the orcs.   
  
They didn't have to wait long, for then at least a hundred orcs appeared before them. There seemed to be a stand off, both sides eyed each other. Well, it was more like the orcs grinning evilly at the two, while both ranger and elf had a determinate expression. Legolas shot a glance at Aragorn and said,   
  
"To the death"   
  
Aragorn repeated it, understanding his meaning; these orcs would not get the boy, no matter what happen to them.   
  
And then the attack begun.  
  
**Reviews**   
  
**Jules Sab~** *stomps Jules' fingers* well you're not on a cliffie anymore! HEEHEE!...*looks at last chapter*..oh wait, nevermind........  
  
**Goblz~**Glad you like it! The boy is based on our on experiences of traveling. ;) Hope you like this chapter as well!  
  
_TBC_


	4. Hands of Hell

** Title: Duty of the Heart  
Chapter Title: Hands of Hell 4/?  
Authors: TrinityTheSheDevil and Karine  
Archive: Just ask.  
Rating: This chapter and the next are strongly rated R, due to Karine and Trin's extreme deranged minds and taste for pure torture and pain  
Disclaimer: Do you actually think we own them?? Hell, if we owned them, we'd be on a tropical island right now, and their clothes would be mysteriously missing. As it is, we don't own them, and can only steal their clothes and watch them scramble trying to cover theirselves up. *cackles*  
Summary: When Aragorn and Legolas find a young orphan in the woods, they decide to bring him with them to Rivendell. This may be the beginning of a new life for the child. But, for his new life to begin, he must survive the trip first...**  
  
Aragorn's face held a look of grim determination as the swarm of Orcs made their way to him. 'There are two things that can happen now', he thought. 'One, this will go bad. And two, this will go VERY bad.'  
  
As the Orcs got closer, he and Legolas stood back to back. The Elf was already taking down as many as he could with his bow before they got too close. But even the best archer in Mirkwood, and even perhaps all of Middle Earth, wasn't enough to hold them back. Soon Aragorn found himself face to face with some of the biggest, most vile Orc he had ever seen. And that was saying something.   
  
Bringing his sword up, Aragorn blocked a blow meant to remove his head from his shoulders. The Warg wound hadn't been given the proper time to heal and was violently ripped open with the jarring move. Pushing the pain from his mind, Aragorn focused on staying alive. This battle wasn't only for his life, but for the life of his best friend, and the boy.   
  
The Orc sidestepped and tried to bring his sword down on Aragorn's back. The ranger ducked and thrust his sword into the stomach of the Orc, who fell to the ground dying. Not even a second later, another took it's place.   
  
Quickly feinting to the left and bringing his sword up to cut it's throat, Aragorn risked a look towards Legolas to see how he was doing. The Elf was faring quite well, his long knives making short work of any Orc in his path.  
  
Bringing his attention back to the battle before him, Aragorn had to quickly roll out of the way as another Orc tried to behead him. He almost groaned to himself, as he saw the battle was moving himself and Legolas further apart.  
  
Having no protection behind him now, the Orcs surrounded him and blocked his view of Legolas. Aragorn's shoulder was throbbing nonstop from the movement, although he was glad it wasn't his sword arm. Swinging around, Aragorn sliced the arm, sword and all, off a nearby Orc. That obviously wasn't enough to stop it, as it pulled out a wicked looking dagger and lunged at the ranger.   
  
Aragorn ducked and threw the Orc over his shoulder before bringing his sword down and piercing it's chest. The Orc gurgled on it's own blood for a few minutes before finally dying a noisy death.   
  
Strider sidestepped as another Orc swung at him, but wasn't fast enough to duck the fist of a second Orc. Staggering backwards, Aragorn attempted to wipe the blood from his eyes so he could see. That second was enough for the enemy, and several Orcs took their chance.  
  
The first Orc who originally swung at the Ranger brought the hilt of it's dagger down on Aragorn's unprotected back. Gasping in pain, Aragorn attempted to rollover to jump up, but was stopped by the iron boot of another Orc in his ribs. Aragorn was sure he felt several of them crack.  
  
He brought his sword up again and sliced through the throat of an Orc, it's black blood spraying all over the ranger, before another brought it's fist down upon the back of Aragorn's head.   
  
His last thought before he blacked out was that he hoped Legolas could get away.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
As soon as they had spotted the orcs, Legolas took his bow and began to shoot most of them before they had to do hand-to-hand combat. Knowing that his friend was protecting his back, he could concentrate better on the foul beasts. So he kept shooting, arrow after arrow, and none of them missed their marks, it was always the kill point. Together, they have had plenty of "misadventures" like that, and the odds were always against them. But this time, it was different, for they were not fighting for themselves, but for the little boy who was hiding in the cave. Their only goal was to protect him, even at the cost of their own life.  
  
When the orcs were too close for comfort, Legolas gave up is bow for his twin long knives. Legolas, unlike Aragorn, didn't have a healing wound, so he was faring better then his friend. With speed and grace that only the elves possessed, he began to attack the orcs with such rage that none of the orcs he faced were standing after he got through with them.   
  
Legolas always kept an eye on his friend during the battle, and he remarked sadly that his friend was having difficulties with his healing shoulder. He would have gladly run to his side, but the orcs kept pushing them further apart from each other. "This is not going good", he thought as he beheaded another orc. Since Aragorn was not protecting his back anymore, Legolas quickly got surrounded.  
  
There seem to be a stand off as all the orcs were inspecting him. Legolas shuddered inwardly at the evil grins these orcs were giving him, but it never broke the look of calm and control that was set on his face. Before the orcs got the chance to attack, he lunged at two of them, stabbing them both in throat with his twin knives. He didn't to time to see if they were dead, for more came charging at him.   
  
He turned around just in time to block a blow meant to slice his head off. But, it took him both his knives, and, so while he was blocking the blow, another orc slashed him in the back, which made Legolas arch in pain. Doing so, his arms both fell to his side and the orc gained an opening at him and use it to slash him on the face, while another struck him with the hilt of his blade, sending Legolas into oblivion. It was then that for the first time, the Prince of Mirkwood, fell to the hands of orcs.  
  
------------------------------------------------------------  
  
Aragorn groaned as he woke back up. He was hoping it was all a nightmare, that he hadn't been captured by Orcs, and when he opened his eyes, he would be back in his own bed in Rivendell.  
  
Hearing the growling and snarling from nearby creatures, his hopes were completely dashed. Ah well, maybe Legolas got away...  
  
"Well well, lookey here boys! Looks like our prisoner is awake!" The ranger opened his eyes and stared into the face of the Orc leader. Rough hands grabbed Aragorn and yanked him to his feet. He bit back a groan of pain as his shoulder protested the move.  
  
The Orc leader looked him up and down with such an intense hatred that it made Aragorn shudder.   
  
"A Ranger. What is a Ranger doing traveling with an Elf?"   
  
Aragorn steeled his jaw, and stared straight ahead. He made no move to answer.   
  
"Stubborn eh? Well, we'll beat that habit out of you." The leader smiled cruelly.   
  
At this, the other Orcs gave a howl of excitement.  
  
"So, I'll ask again. What is a ranger doing traveling with an elf?"  
  
"Discussing hair care?" As soon as that left his mouth, Aragorn knew it was a mistake. An Orc fist came rushing towards his middle, and knocked the breath out of him.   
  
The Orc leader glared at Aragorn, before looking back at the others. "Teach him a lesson, but DON'T kill him. I want that pleasure."  
  
The Orcs nodded, and he walked off in another direction.   
  
'Why is he leaving unless....oh no......Legolas.' Aragorn thought. His attention was brought back to his own predicament as another fist found his sensitive stomach.   
  
"Ready to have some fun, human?" The Orc growled.   
  
Another sarcastic comment almost passed Aragorn's lips, but he thought better of it. Best not provoke them any further. As if that would save him from further pain anyway.  
  
The Orc leaned down in Aragorn's face. "I'm Yul-Erk. Remember my name human, you'll be screaming it later."  
  
Yul-Erk looked Aragorn over, and grabbed his shoulder wound, pushing his thumb roughly in the jagged hole.  
  
Aragorn had to bite his lip to keep from screaming. He felt a warm trickle of blood running down his arm and watched as the Orc licked it off his fingers.  
  
"Turn him over. Tie him down." Yul-Erk turned around, and Aragorn was flipped onto his stomach.   
  
Aragorn looked as the Orcs brandished a U shaped piece of metal, with pointed ends.   
  
"Get ready to scream." One whispered in his ear.   
  
His hands were pressed down flat onto the ground. Suddenly, understanding filled Aragorn. He started struggling and bucking, trying to escape the grasp of the Orcs.  
  
His struggling abruptly ended as he was knocked on the back of the head. Spots danced before his eyes, and he was vaguely aware of his hands being pressed against the cold hard earth again.   
  
That was, until, a piece of metal was driven through one of them.   
  
Aragorn screamed. It was a primal scream, full of pain and angst. The trees shuddered at the emotion released from the ranger, and the sky seemed to darken more, taking away the little light they had.   
  
Another spike was driven through his other hand, securing it to the ground. The screams ended when the pain got to be too much for Aragorn, and he finally passed out.  
  
Through all this, unbeknownst to Aragorn, another scream also filled the air.   
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Elrond sighed, and leaned against the railing looking out over Imladris. He thought of his foster son, and smiled. No doubt the young ranger was getting himself into as much trouble as possible.  
  
Elrond's ears jerked as he heard the light footfall of his sons, Elladan and Elrohir.   
  
"You'll have to be quieter than that, if you wish to sneak up on me."  
  
"Now why would you think we're trying to do that, Ada?" Elladan grinned.   
  
Elrond raised an eyebrow at his son, and gave him the 'yeah right' look. Taking his sons by the shoulders, he said,  
  
"You expect me to believe that after all the-"  
  
Whatever else Elrond was going to say was cut short as a sharp pain filled his head. The pain increased, and he clutched at his temples.  
  
"ADA?! WHAT'S WRONG?!" Elladan tried to remove his fathers hands, as Elrond started gasping for breath.  
  
The pain spread, and Elrond's shoulder felt as if it had caught fire. His hands were throbbing mercilessly, and the pain became unbearable. His mind started blacking out, and he saw images that would give him nightmares for years. Aragorn, lying on the ground with spikes driven through his hands, surrounded by Orcs. His foster son was screaming, the screams full of such pain that Elrond wished he could trade places with him. The images vanished, and Elrond passed out into the arms of his sons.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
"-he might be coming around."  
  
Elrond blinked and opened his eyes, meeting the gaze of his twin sons. He gathered them both in a hug, and a single tear slid down his cheek. Aragorn........  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
As soon as Legolas opened his eyes, he groan inwardly, for he was sitting on the ground, and he was surrounded by orcs who seemed ecstatic that he had woke up. He saw what seemed to be the leader walking straight towards him; he was coming from another part of the camp where a band of orcs were gathered around something. "Aragorn", he thought sadly, the realization that his friend had not managed to get away was like a dagger to his heart.   
  
Soon the leader stood before him and he glared at his "plaything" for a time, but Legolas didn't flinch under the leader's regard. The orc took that as a sign of stubbornness and he backhanded the elf with enough force to send the prince to the ground. Two orcs pick him up and forced him into his previous position, but this time they didn't let go of him.   
  
"So" The leader said. "What are you doing with a human, elf?" The last word was spit and it made Legolas glare at the orc, but he didn't answered.   
  
His stubbornness earned him another backhanding, but this time it split his lip. Then the leader repeated his question, but with more insistence this time.   
  
"Why do you care?" He said in a bitter voice.   
  
This continued for a couple of minutes, and each time Legolas' answer was more and more sarcastic and each time he received a kick in the ribs. Then, the leader seeing that he wouldn't answer, decided that he would have some fun with the elf. He barked to some orcs in the black tongue, which Legolas didn't understand.   
  
Legolas suddenly shuddered, not because of the evil grin that the orcs were giving him, more because of what they brought. One of the orc had a chain with metal shackles on it, he went and pass it around a nearby tree. With that done, the orcs dragged Legolas, who was thrashing around in an effort to escape their grips.   
  
When they arrived at the tree, they put the metal shackles around Legolas' wrists. But, these were not normal metal shackles, these one had metal spikes in it, and as soon as they were put around his wrist, the spikes entered in his skin, and it made him howl in pain.   
  
"What are the elves are "better" at?" The leader asked no one in particular. "Oh...yeah.....I know........archery.....and this one seems really good at it too. It would be a pity if he couldn't do it anymore, wouldn't it" He sneered.   
  
"Tell me elf, how would you use a bow if your hands were broken....PERMANENTLY." he added, with an evil grin.   
  
At this, some orcs went to hold the prince, while one hold his arm to the ground. Legolas wanted to struggle, to escape their grip, but each time he moved, the spikes of the bound made him howled in pain. So when the leader approached him with a mace and hit his right hand with all his force, and then did the same for his left's one. Legolas fingers were crushed and that was the most excruciating pain he felt.  
  
He felt small drop of water fall on his cheek when he thought of his hands and realized that he was crying. He cursed his weakness, at the same time hoping that they would leave him alone. But his hopes were crushed when they built a fire near him; he doubted that the fire was meant to make him warm.   
  
Soon, the leader approached him with a torch and kept bringing the fire closer to Legolas' chest. Legolas bit his tongue to keep the scream of pain that was threatening to escape him, while also tying to hold still for his wrist's sake.   
  
But, the fire kept coming closer and closer to his bare chest, to a point were he couldn't take it anymore and thrash around, trying in vain to put distance between him and the flame. But, that was exactly what the orc had wanted, because when he struggled, the spikes kept entering in his wrists, and he voiced a deep yell of pain. Because of his own yell and pain, he didn't heard Aragorns howl of pain from the other part of the camp. When he finally passed out from the pain, his wrists were bleeding freely. But, before passing out, he moaned, "Ada".   
  
*********   
  
Thranduil was sitting on his throne and listening to the Captain of his guard's report about the border patrol. He was about to dismiss his Captain when a sudden wave of excruciating pain passed through him. It seemed as him his hands were crushed and his chest was burning.   
  
Just before passing out, he saw his son, lying on the forest floor, in pain, all bruised and bloodied and he heard him moaning, "Ada". And then the King saw no more, for darkness claimed him.   
  
When he woke again, everyone was crowded around him. He sat up, and yelled,   
  
"GET MY HORSE READY"   
  
*********   
  
When Legolas opened his eyes again, he vaguely saw Aragorn hovering over him, but he was in too much pain to actually wake completely. There was no way that they could get out of this, Legolas thought. He was in so much pain that when darkness tried to overtake him, he gave up, hoping to never wake again.  
  
************  
  
**TBC**  
  
*blink blink* That wasn't too much of a cliffie.....was it? *blink blink* Technically two cliffies from both of us..............you wouldn't hurt us would you guys?? You love us too much...............right? Umm............if you kill us we can't write the next chapter!!!!! *Trin jumps behind Karine and shoves her forward to blood thirsty readers* TAKE HER!!!! *dust cloud as Trin runs off*  
  
Karine: ...oh crap....  
  
**REVIEWS** -   
  
**Gwyn ** ~ Hummm, elf torture, well, I hope we made your expectation come true in this chapter *snicker*, next chapter should be worse......oups, it slipped *snicker*. Trin and I are glad that you are liking it :D.   
  
**Firniswin** ~ You hate cliffies, well you won't love this chapter, nor the next and the next........ *snicker evilly* Trin and I are very glad that you're liking our fic :D  
  
**Goblz** ~ *Pick Spark jaw from the floor* You'll need it to drop it again in this chapter and the next and the next, well, you get it grin evilly*. NOOOOOOOOOOO, Spark, if you write that fic, WE'RE GOING TO BE SO EVIL THAT YOU'LL SURELY DIE FALLING FROM OUR CLIFFIE. ROTFLAMO!!!!! Trin and I are glad that you like it :D:D  
  
_Again....please.....don't kill us!!!!! LOL._


	5. Pain, Hurt, and Grief

**Title: Duty of the Heart  
Chapter Title: Pain, Hurt, and Grief 5/?  
Authors: TrinityTheSheDevil and Karine  
Archive: Just ask.  
Rating: This chapter and the next are strongly rated R, due to Karine and Trin's extreme deranged minds and taste for pure torture and pain Disclaimer: Getting really tired of saying this. We *don't* own them, despite the fact we torture/maim/kill/kiss/smarm/whip/beat/cut/smack/hit/kick/filley/wack/pounce on them/whatever else evil you can think of/ them. Seriously, you'd think we *did* own them by now, but noooooo. Stupid legal stuff. Okay, we own their *clones*. Their *naked* clones. Happy? ;)  
Summary: When Aragorn and Legolas find a young orphan in the woods, they decide to bring him with them to Rivendell. This may be the beginning of a new life for the child. But, for his new life to begin, he must survive the trip first...  
  
Chapter Five**  
  
Aragorn came to with a gasp when a bucket of water was thrown on him.   
  
"Wake up, scum! The fun's just beginning!" An orc yelled, cackling to himself.  
  
Aragorn suddenly had the crazy notion that he didn't want to be awake right then. The pain in his hands doubled when his fingers twitched, and he knew he didn't want to be awake.  
  
"Our boss says we can do whatever we want to you. What do you say to that?" The Orc laughed, and kicked Aragorn in the side.  
  
Aragorn could think of quite a few things to say, most included screaming at the top of his lungs. He held back though. Aragorn had the feeling that he was going to be doing quite a lot of screaming in the near future.  
  
"Strip him."  
  
Aragorn groaned as his shirt was removed, as was his boots, until he was clad only in his breeches. This.....was going to be bad.  
  
Yul-Erk crouched down in front of Aragorn so the human could see him.  
  
"Isn't this a pretty thing?" The orc dangled a whip in front of Aragorn. The whip, he noticed, had little metal hooks sewed into the end.   
  
"Very painful device. One of my favorite to use on *humans* like you. Although your pretty elf friend will probably taste it before this night is over with."  
  
"Leave him alone! You can beat me, just leave him alone!" Aragorn struggled slightly, and had to keep from crying out as his hands were put through agony.  
  
Yul-Erk leaned in closer to Aragorns face so that the man could smell his rancid breath. "Well now, that's a mighty nice offer. But we already have plans for the elf." The orc sneered, and stood back up.  
  
Aragorn had a split second when he felt the displacement in air to realize the whip was heading towards his back. He felt it rake like fire against his skin, the hooks catching and ripping deep shallows into his flesh.  
  
Over and over again, the whip rained down on his unprotected body. Several times it went across his legs, shredding his breeches until they hung loosely against his limbs.   
  
Aragorn gasped and whimpered, feeling the blood pool around his body. His hands were a mess, having tried to get loose repeatedly only to be met with torn skin and white hot pain.   
  
Finally, when Aragorn was on the brink of losing consciousness, the whip stopped.   
  
For a few minutes Aragorn heard nothing but the rustling of the Orcs, and he wondered what they were up to. His terror slowly grew, while his mind thought up torture after torture that the Orcs could be planning.  
  
When he thought he was going to go insane, one of the foul beings stepped up beside him. Aragorn could see nothing but he heard something swishing around, it sounded like someone shaking up a water skin.  
  
The Orc bent down and poured something onto the mans wounds; Aragorn screamed as he felt the poison enter his bloodstream. It was also poured onto his hands and legs, until finally Aragorn couldn't breathe for the pain.   
  
Again that night, Aragorn's mind couldn't take the torture, and he passed out.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Aragorn awoke when a foot connected with his jaw. Grunting in pain, he tried to glare at the offending Orc.  
  
"Wimpy human, can't even stay awake for the good part."   
  
Strider almost laughed to himself. How much "better" could it get?!  
  
His question was answered when Yul-Erk returned with a flask of something that Aragorn probably didn't want anywhere near him.  
  
"Open up." Yul-Erk smiled evilly.  
  
"No thank you. My ada said never to take food or drink from strangers." Aragorn muttered.   
  
"Well your ada isn't here now is he?!" The orc grasped Aragorn by the throat, cutting off his air supply. Right when Aragorn thought he was going to pass out, the Orc released him. His body instantly reacted, taking in several big gulps of air. Yul-Erk poured the poison into Aragorn's mouth at that moment, causing the human to cough and sputter. His nose and mouth were suddenly closed off, until Aragorn had no choice but to swallow in order to breathe.  
  
The poison stung as it traveled down his throat, and soon he felt as if his whole body was on fire. Then, as quickly as it started, it stopped, and his body felt as if it were made of ice.  
  
This kept on for a long time, until Aragorn had lost all sense of time or place. His world was pure pain and torment, he knew nothing else. His body spasmed with each turn from fire to ice, and his hands went numb from the blood loss.  
  
The poison slowly tapered off, leaving Aragorn weak and exhausted. The world spun around him, and he felt as if he were going to be ill.  
  
"Now, to make sure you don't escape..." The Orc trailed off, and grabbed something that was lying in the fire.  
  
The flat of a heated sword was placed on the bottom of both of Aragorn's feet. Not having the strength to scream, Strider whimpered slightly.   
  
One of the spikes in his hands were roughly yanked upwards out of the ground, and out of his hand. The Orc grabbed his arm, and turned it so that the inside of his wrist was pointing upwards. Taking a small heated metal brand, the Orc placed it on the wrist, just below the hand. The metal hissed as it met skin, and left a blood red mark. A mark that would stay with Aragorn for the rest of his life.  
  
The other spike was ripped up, and his arm flapped lifelessly on the ground. "Leave him there, I doubt he can even move his head." Yul-Erk laughed.  
  
He only hoped that Thomas and Legolas weren't going through the same thing, and mostly that Thomas was still safely tucked away in the cave.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Legolas was feeling good, too good. He didn't felt the pain, in fact, he was not with the orcs anymore, he was back in Mirkwood. He was happily talking with his father when he heard a deep yell, full of pain anguish. "Aragorn," he thought.   
  
"NO!" He told himself, "I cannot be at peace while Aragorn is not." With that he woke up, only to be looking straight in the eyes of the leader.   
  
"You sleep well 'princess'." The leader said, grinning maliciously.   
  
"Okay, I'm ready to go back to darkness now." He thought sarcastically. Unfortunately for him, very bad things would happen to him before he would be able to "sleep".   
  
Before Legolas could actually answer something, he was drag to the "play ground" as the orcs called it. They put him the same shackles as last time, and the leader now stood in front of him with a whip with little metal hooks sewed into the end. There was blood dripping from it.   
  
"See this blood here," He said. "This is your friend's blood. From what I've heard, Yul-Erk here had much fun with your friend while you were sleeping."   
  
Legolas was so enraged at this that he began to struggle against his shackles, with the intend to hit him. He struggled so hard that he actually managed to kick the leader and send him flying backwards. He didn't care about the punishment he would receive for that, he needed to do it, for Aragorn.   
  
And punishment he did receive, for both the leader and Yul-Erk had in hand one of the wicked whip, and they both began to whip him, all the while laughing evilly.   
  
Pain. Pure Pain. The kind that would kill a stronger one in mere minutes, yet Legolas resisted. Each time the whip connected with his bare skin, he wanted to die because it hurt him so much.   
  
He screamed each time they hit him, a scream that would break the heart of any living creature that had compassion in them. To an elf's ear, it would seem that even the trees were screaming in chorused with Legolas. But, Legolas wasn't even trying to hide his pain or hold up his screams; he had no dignity left, no more pride, he had nothing left in him. Had he been alone in this situation, he would have given up for real a long time ago.   
  
But he was not, Aragorn and little Thomas were also here, and he would be strong for them, only for them. He only prayed that Thomas would not be caught. Then between two slaps of the whip, a terrible thought hit him, Thomas could probably see all of this from his hiding spot and that broke his heart. The boy had already seen too much in his short life, and now to witness this. There was no word that Legolas could find that would exactly describe what the boy might be thinking at the moment. Nothing could explain what the boy was thinking.   
  
When they finally stopped, Legolas was just a bloody mess. Just before passing out from the excruciating pain he was in, he heard the leader say,  
  
"We'll let you rest for a bit, we'll have more fun later."   
  
Legolas was still unconscious when they decided that they wanted to have some fun. So he woke up when a foot connected with his ribs and he looked up to see the leader grinning at him.   
  
"Ready to have more fun, elf." Legolas never got the chance to answer.   
  
After a "Let's kick the elf as hard as we can" game, the leader reappeared before the elf.   
  
"Now my toy, do you recognize this mark?" He asked shoving a metal brand in front of the prince.   
  
Legolas gasped when he saw mark on the stick, proving to the leader that he indeed knew it. That was the mark of the Dark Lord, one that identified you as a slave to the orcs or the Dark Lord himself. The mark was a ring, to represent the One Ring and on the inside there was a eye. Legolas knew that if he had this mark branded on him, he would never be able to move on from this experience, that is if he lived to see the end of this living nightmare.   
  
"After you have this mark, we'll be able to have much more fun," The leader said while putting the brand into the fire.   
  
During this time, the surrounding orcs had removed Legolas' shackles and were holding him in place, his right hand turned to point upward and then the leader approached him with the metal brand. Legolas' hand was broken; his wrist was bleeding again because of the shackles. So when the brand connected with his wrist, the excruciating wave of pain that passed through his body made him nearly fall unconscious. He didn't had time to "sleep" for a minute after they were dragging him to be near Aragorn again.   
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Thomas trembled as he watched from his hideout in the cave. The screams of pain grated on his ears. In his mind, he replayed the Orc attack against his parents all over again. He saw himself, running away, and his parents being brutally murdered. In his heart, he knew that his parents were dead, and that he would never see them again.  
  
He also knew that if he ran now, he would never see his two friends again. Orcs were relentless, they'd beat them and beat them until they were finally dead.   
  
Thomas sighed. He'd never be able to live with himself if he did nothing. He had to help them.  
  
Nodding to himself and setting his chin, he stood up. Running towards the Orc camp as fast as his little legs would carry him, he yelled, "HEY BIG UGLY HEADS! BET YOU CAN'T CATCH ME!"  
  
Taking off, he fled into the forest hoping that his friends could now escape.   
  
The Orcs, thinking the two prisoners were down for the count, fled after the boy. Their shrieks of delight echoed throughout the forest, making the trees shudder as they passed them by.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Aragorn jerked back into awareness as he heard Thomas yell. Lifting his head ever so slightly, he caught sight of the boy rushing off into the forest, along with all of the Orcs in the camp.   
  
"Oh no, Thomas. What have you done?"  
  
Steeling himself, he raised his body painfully to his knees. He would not sit by while the boy was killed. Gritting his teeth, he pulled his legs under him, and shakily stood up. The burns on his feet were pure agony touching the rough forest floor.   
  
Looking to the side, where Legolas was staring off into space, Aragorn shook him slightly. He didn't know what exactly was wrong with the elf, but it wasn't good.   
  
"Come mellon nin, it is out time to escape."  
  
Legolas nodded slowly, and Aragorn helped him to stand up.   
  
They both staggered off in the direction of the cave to pick up their weapons and packs. The horses were long gone, having been scared off in the initial attack. Probably headed back to Rivendell or Mirkwood by now.  
  
Hefting the heavy pack onto his flayed back, Aragorn grunted in pain. He watched Legolas do the same, and they both headed off towards the direction of the boy.  
  
They would come back with him, or they wouldn't come back at all.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Legolas was the first to reach Thomas, they boy was lying on his back, an arrow protruding from his chest. He had been left for dead there by the orcs. Legolas bent down beside him and with a trembling hand, he reached for the boy's neck to check for a pulse. His heart stop beating when he felt none and he turned to look at his friend who was standing a few feet away.  
  
When Aragorn saw Legolas' eyes sparkle with unshed tears, he knew then that the boy was dead, but his heart didn't want to believe it. He went beside the boy, fell to his knees and took the boy in his lap and he weep. After more than a couple of minutes, Legolas put a hand on his shoulder and told him,  
  
"He is dead mellon nin, there is nothing else we can do. The only thing that we should do, is bury him, as to not leave his body for the animals." He then added. "We should treat our wounds before."   
  
Each of them bounded the injuries of the other, beginning with their hands. Aragorn bound his own because Legolas couldn't do anything with his. When Aragorn finish with his, he proceeded to reset all of Legolas' fingers and he bound them carefully. After that, they bound the rest of their injuries. When they were finally finished, it was time to take care of the boy.   
  
They began to dig the grave, painfully but surely. After they had finished, Aragorn shot a glance at his friend. Although he was not an elf, the small amount of elvish blood that he had made him feel something that he did not like; his friend was fading. The torture he had had to endure in the last two day, and now the death of little Thomas, was taking his toll on the Prince. That was why Aragorn could sense him fading, for his friend was slowly dying of a broken heart. Pushing theses thought aside, his grieving mind refusing them at the moment, he put the boy in the grave.   
  
"Be at peace tithen maethor." Legolas said softly while trying to hold back a sob, but failing miserably.   
  
As they were about to put the dirt on the boy, an arrow came flying in the clearing, hitting Aragorn in the chest. The ranger fell to his knees, then blacked out as his blood was spilling profusely from his wound.   
  
--------------------------------------------------  
  
*cough*.......  
  
IT WAS ALL KARINE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! *again*  
  
Besides, you can't kill Trin. Trin is smart, sweet, sexy, lovable, *innocent*, cute, insane, and has to finish Sacrifices Born From Love. Seeeee, Trin can't be harmed!!!!! (AT ALL!!!!)  
  
Karine on the other hand................  
  
*cackle*  
  
*Trin runs off*  
  
**Reviews** -   
  
**Gwyn ** ~ Well, here is the worse, hope you enjoyed *snicker* We're glad that you are liking this fic :D:D.  
  
**Wilwarin** ~ I so wouldn't want to hear your scream now *cackle* And Yul-Erk is on OUR side =P.   
  
**Goblz** ~ We are both glad that you like our father's part :D:D. And I guess that after this cliffie, I guess that we are in for it in the revenge fic *cackle*  
  
_TBC....._


	6. Miracles

**Title: Duty of the Heart  
Chapter Title: Miracles 6/?  
Authors: TrinityTheSheDevil and Karine  
Archive: Just ask.  
Rating: Yup, it's still rated R. Drat those moments of insanity where our insane minds take over and we just write lots and lots of torture.....  
Disclaimer: Yes, we have bought them from Tolkien Enterprises! WE NOW OWN THEM! WOOHOO! THEY'RE ALL OURS! TO LOVE, AND TORTURE, AND HOLD, AND PET, AND BE OUR VERY BEST FRIENDS! Na, just kidding. We don't own'em, but we're going to do all that stuff anyway....  
Summary: When Aragorn and Legolas find a young orphan in the woods, they decide to bring him with them to Rivendell. This may be the beginning of a new life for the child. But, for his new life to begin, he must survive the trip first...  
  
Chapter Six**   
  
A part of Legolas died when he saw the expression of utter shock and surprise on Aragorn's face when the arrow slammed into the man's chest. Immediately after the man's fall, the orcs charge in the clearing. But, Legolas was ready for them.  
  
Without even thinking twice, he took out his twins knives and stood there ready for anything, pure hatred flashing in his eyes. There was at least twenty orcs, but none of them got past him, he was protecting Aragorn with the ferocity of a dragon. The orcs even seemed to cower before him, for he was not killing them, he was mutilating them. But, it was not his actions that they feared, it was his eyes. His eyes, which were blue like the sky of a beautiful summer day, were now pitch black. All of his emotions, his feeling of helplessness towards his captivity, he had let take over him. Now he stood, bathed in orcs' blood, all of them lying dead around him. He stood there for a minute at least, thoughts of annihilation of one particular species passing through his mind. Then he look at Aragorn and his heart melted.   
  
"Mellon nin, I'm here now, I will make you better." He said through his tears when he reached Aragorn.  
  
Then he got to work, he did everything he could for him. Fortunately, the arrow was more towards the shoulder, so he could remove it without injuring him further. After having stopped the bleeding, treating the wound and bandaging it, Aragorn woke up.   
  
"It hurts Legolas."   
  
"I know mellon nin, tell me where so I can help you."   
  
"There is nothing you can do for me Legolas, I just hurt too much. Just let me go."  
  
"NEVER!" Legolas yelled. "Aragorn, you are the reason I managed to live through what happen to us. I will not stand by and watch you give up. I WILL NOT. If you die, I die. I could not live without you, not with the knowledge that I failed you. I should have heard them coming, it's all my fault." Aragorn was about to say something, but Legolas didn't let him. "I know, it wasn't my fault, but I still feel responsible. But, all of that aside, if you leave me, who will help me annoy the twins." A small grin appeared on both their faces at that.  
  
Aragorn's grin didn't last long, for a powerful wave of pain pass through him and he fell unconscious. Legolas got alarmed at this and immediately checked his pulse. Feeling one, he relaxed a little, and begun to weep. His head jerked up when he heard a soft moan of pain, but it was not coming from Aragorn, so it could only be...   
  
"THOMAS" He yelled running to the grave of the little boy.   
  
When he reached it, he looked down and saw the boy. He was wide awake, all of his featured were etched in pain, but he was definitely alive.   
  
Legolas bent down and carefully bring him up and lie him down. It was fortunate that they had not removed the arrow, for the boy will have bled to death. After doing what he could for the boy, he gave him a sleeping draught and stood watch before his two sleeping friends. He didn't even give a thought about how it was possible that the boy was still alive, he was and it was what mattered.   
  
Aragorn awoke a few minutes later, the pain having died down a notch. Sitting up, he noticed Thomas lying on the ground.  
  
"Legolas..what...." Aragorn's brow furrowed.  
  
"He's alive, Aragorn. He's alive!"  
  
Aragorn smiled in relief, guilt donning his features as he realized he was going to bury the boy while he was still breathing.  
  
"We have to get him to your father, or he will not last long though. We do not have the skills or supplies to treat him."  
  
Aragorn nodded, then slowly and painfully stood up. The world spun around him, trees earth becoming a blur. He shook his head to clear it, and after a few moments everything stopped. Looking at the arrow that had pierced him, Aragorn sighed. Legolas hadn't noticed it, but there was an inky blackness coating the tip of it. Poison.  
  
He decided to keep that bit of information to himself. Legolas already had enough to deal with at the moment, with his injuries, and Thomas' near death. If Aragorn guessed right, the poison was a slow acting one, and wouldn't really take effect until three days from now. That was just enough time for them to get to Rivendell. Or close enough that Legolas could take Thomas for the last leg of the journey.  
  
Aragorn shook his head, and thought, 'Either way, this will not stop me from getting Thomas to my father. I won't fail again.'  
  
As soon as Legolas was ready, Aragorn reached down and slowly picked Thomas up. The elf couldn't, as his hands had been smashed up very badly. Not to mention the battle not too long ago, which had only worsened them.   
  
The pain in his hands tripled when supporting the weight of the boy, but Aragorn gritted his teeth. Steeling his jaw, he set off, praying to the Valar that nothing else came between them and Rivendell.  
  
If something did.......Aragorn didn't know how they would survive.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
They had been traveling for two days straight, only stopping to check on their injuries and take small meals. They had just taken what would be their last rest, for they were now only a few hours away from Rivendell. They were both exhausted beyond limits, but their determination drove them onward. None of them wanted to fail the boy again.   
  
They had been walking for a few minutes when Legolas stopped abruptly.   
  
"What is wrong, mellon nin?" Aragorn asked worried.   
  
"The trees, they speak of danger." He paused, stretching his ear to hear what they were talking about, then added, "ORCS, orcs are coming our way!"   
  
When Aragorn was about to put the boy down, Legolas said,  
  
"No, take the boy and leave, NOW!" Aragorn reluctantly accepted after promising that he would send help.   
  
Aragorn took a last glance at his friend before he left, and what he saw made him shudder. Legolas stood there, ready for anything, and at that moment, he looked just like the mighty warrior that he was. Then, after sending a prayer to the Valar to keep his friend safe, he began to run towards Rivendell.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Aragorn gasped, pushing his legs faster. He could hear a few Orcs behind him, but quickly lost them in the brush. His blood rushed through his veins, and he could hear the beat of his heart. Sweat poured down his face and back, drenching him. The poison was being pumped faster through his body, making him lightheaded.   
  
He wouldn't give up. Not when he was so close. The world slowly began tilting around him and he stumbled slightly, grasping Thomas against his chest tighter. Most of his wounds had open up again, and were bleeding freely.   
  
His vision began darkening at the edges, and he pumped his legs even faster. He had to get Thomas to safety, before his body gave out on him.   
  
'Almost there,' he told himself. He could hear the water of the river rushing, and could see the outline of Imladris. 'Almost home.'  
  
After what seemed like an eternity, Aragorn ran through the gates and into the courtyard in front of Elrond's house. He tried to go faster, but much to his dismay, his legs refused to work.  
  
Elrond quickly ran out the door, followed closely by Elladan and Elrohir.   
  
"Legolas...alone.....Orcs............" Aragorn got no further, as his eyes rolled up in the back of his head, and he fell to the ground, Thomas landing on top of him.  
  
"Valar no." Elrond rushed to his foster son.   
  
"Elladan, Elrohir, go find Legolas. I fear he may be in great danger. I'll look after Aragorn."  
  
The twins nodded, and took off to the stables. Elrond called out for Glorfindel, who quickly appeared. Glorfindel gently took Thomas, and Elrond picked up Aragorn.   
  
Elrond only hoped he was fast enough to save both Aragorn and Thomas, and that Legolas was still alive.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
_THERE! Finally a chapter without a cliffie.   
  
*pause*  
  
Oh shit.  
  
Nevermind.....................  
  
*Karine and Trin jump on the Kick-Ass-Twins-Of-Hells backs and piggyback ride all the way to another galaxy*_  
  
**Reviews!** -   
  
**Elf-Formally-Known-as-Legolas** ~ *slowly back away* You're worse then us LMAO.   
  
**Gwyn** ~ WOW, first time someone told me that they like my cliffie *bow* Thanks for the compliment, hope I didn't deceive you here *cackle*  
  
**Goblz** ~ SEE, HE'S NOT DEAD, I would like to point to you sparx that we are not THAT EVIL =P *look at all the cliffie* well............maybe..........but that is not the point =P AND SEE everything is better, well sort off *cackle*  
  
_TBC......._


	7. Despair

**Title: Duty of the Heart  
Chapter Title: Despair 7/?  
Authors: TrinityTheSheDevil and Karine  
Archive: Just ask.  
Rating: Well, *THIS* chapter might not be rated R, but previous ones are, so all you people under 18, NANERNANERNANER! *cough* ;)  
Disclaimer: We no longer care about LOTRs. We have E-K-A-T-O-H. *jumps on them* WHEEEEEEEEEEEE! Wait *pause*.....*looks at copyrights*.....damn it seems we don't own them either. GAAAAHHHH!! *tries to find somebody we do own*............hmmmm there's a guy on EBay we can buy who would look like Aragorn if we gave him a wig and he lost a few pounds. Okay, so, we don't own them, but we do own this really weird looking guy from ebay. :D  
Summary: When Aragorn and Legolas find a young orphan in the woods, they decide to bring him with them to Rivendell. This may be the beginning of a new life for the child. But, for his new life to begin, he must survive the trip first...**  
  
The twins had only ridden that hard one time ever before; it had been to go deliver their mother. When their mother's guard had stumbled in Rivendell that fateful day, they didn't even wait to hear what he had to tell, they knew. So when they saw Aragorn arriving without Legolas, they were already ready to leave to get him.   
  
They had now left in the same fashion as before, but this time, they would not fail someone close to them, they would not fail Legolas.   
  
They didn't speak as they rode, but the same thoughts were going through their mind. How to injure an orc, how to maim an orc, how to kill an orc and last but not least, how to eradicate the entire orc population. No, that was always on their mind; their biggest worry as they rode was that they would not reach the prince in time.   
  
When they had to attack a camp of orcs, the twins always had a plan. Elrohir would always go first, by the trees, and begin to shoot them. Then Elladan would charge them from behind, Elrohir would get down and they always finish the battle with their knives or swords. When the orcs finally came into their view, they saw Legolas moving from tree to tree to escape the orcs. And when they saw him falling and crashing to the forest floor, all thoughts of plan were forgotten and were replaced by hatred and worry.  
  
They brought their horses to a halt a few feet before the orcs' camp, and got ready for their attack. They both dismounted, unsheathed their swords, clashed them together like they always did before a battle, and then lunged at the foul beasts.   
  
It seemed as though they were running through the orcs, killing each that came into their view. At one point, they heard Legolas' yell of pain and both turned into the direction of the scream. Unfortunately, one of the orcs only needed this little distraction to have an opening at one of them.   
  
Elrohir was painfully brought back to the battle when a mace connected with his back and he fell to the ground. He didn't stay there long though; ignoring the excruciating pain of his back, he got up and continue to fight.   
  
Elladan had seen his brother fall to the ground and since there was nothing that could keep him away from him; he made his way to him rather fast.   
  
"Are you all right nin muindor?" Elladan ask worriedly.   
  
"Of course I am. That was nothing."   
  
Elladan didn't look very convinced, but he had no choice but to trust his brother. Then Elladan look up, his gray eyes clouded by worry and fear, and said,  
  
"They drug him off Elrohir, and it's no use, we won't get passed them. We'll have to kill them all here."   
  
"That won't be a problem." Elrohir hissed.   
  
"Not at all." His brother said in the same tone.   
  
So, a few moments later, all the orcs lay dead and they ran in the direction that Legolas had been dragged.   
  
They had been running for a few minutes when they heard something that pierced their heart. It was Legolas.   
  
********   
  
As Legolas was tied down to a tree, he knew that this time, there was no going back. He did not have the strength to survive more torture. He could feel his light dimming; he knew it was his time. At least, he knew that Aragorn and Thomas would be okay, and that was all he needed to know. So, when darkness threatened to take him again, he knew this time, that it would be for good. The last that he would have uttered in this world was a deep scream of pain when he was tied down to the tree just before he gave up.   
  
********   
  
Upon seeing Legolas all bloodied against the tree, the twins fell into a murderous rage and in a matter of minutes, all the orcs lay dead on the ground. They both rushed to their friend's side, fearing the worst. Elladan had tried to arouse him, but to no avail, then Elrohir said,  
  
"Can't you feel it nin muindor? He gave up." Elrohir said, sorrow in his voice.   
  
"No, as long as he breathes there is a chance. We have to get him back to Rivendell now." Elladan said stubbornly.   
  
Fortunately for them, the horses had not ran away and they both mounted, Elladan taking Legolas with him. As they rode, Elrohir started to get numb, "Of course there had to be poison in that mace," he thought. But he pushed these though away, focusing on their friend instead.   
  
When they arrived in Rivendell, Glorfindel was waiting for them, grief and sorrow flashing in his blue eyes.   
  
"What's wrong?" Elrohir asked, but never heard the answer, for then he collapsed from his horse and hit his head on the ground. He was now lying on the ground, blood pouring from his wound on the head.   
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Elrond told Glorfindel to set Thomas on a bed next to the one he was laying Aragorn on. The Elf Lord cursed under his breath as he felt the fever raging inside of his foster son. The cuts, bruises, and punctures were red and inflamed. Elrond wondered how Aragorn had made it that far, bearing Thomas.  
  
He had Glorfindel begin treating Thomas as he started on Aragorn. He began with the shoulder, cleaning it out and putting athelas on it. When he was done, he bound it tightly and worked on the hands. The holes needed cleaning and stitching, a job that required most of his attention. Aragorn moaned in pain with every physical contact between them, and Elrond was torn. He wished he could give his son something for the pain, but at this time, his son might not wake up if put to sleep.   
  
"Shhhh, Estel. It will be okay." Elrond started on the other hand, and gasped when he noticed a bright red brand. The brand of a slave. Elrond felt his eyes prickle with tears and felt them pool up, gently rolling down his cheek. Sniffing, he finished with the hand and gently turned his son over. The elf lord had to gasp at the amount of torture inflicted on the young humans back. He started cleaning each cut, and soon realized that there was no "each cut". His back was almost void of skin, having been ripped off by Valar knew what. When he had done all he could for his back, he turned to see how Thomas was faring while Glorfindel took over the caring of Aragorn.  
  
He lifted up the bandage that Glorfindel had lightly put over the wound, and shook his head sadly. The wound was bad, especially for a child. Quickly cleaning it, he stitched it up as best he could, and put fresh bandages on it.  
  
That done, he stood up just as the other elf was finishing his son. They both looked towards the two injured ones lying on the bed, one in particular.   
  
"I do not think that he will make it through the night." Elrond sniffed.  
  
**Reviews!**  
  
**Firniswin** ~ Well, here is more *grin* hope you like :D  
  
**BECCI** ~ Here it is, enjoy *snicker*  
  
**Goblz** ~ You really thought we would have killed him, we are not THAT evil, well, just a bit, ok ok A LOT *cackle* Sparx, you just have to read better, must be old age *cackle madly* *blink* It was a cliffie, we didn't thought so, LMAO  
  
**Legolas's fanatical fan girl** ~ We are glad that you are enjoying the fic :D, I don't kill characters off, ok, I maim them to death but they live at the end, unlike my evil partner in crime LOL   
  
Songbird ~ It will get better, but does it have to be right now *cackle* So, I'm more evil then you, well, I beg to differ =P LOL. Sorry, but I simply HAD too injure him some more LMAO  
  
_-------------------------------------------------------------  
  
WHEEEEEEEEE! *we both jump on the poor guy we bought from Ebay and he slowly walks away*  
  
*blinks*  
  
*Trin jumps off, grabs both of the E-K-A-T-O-H, has them cart her off, leaving Karine in the middle of a pack of blood thirsty readers with only the ebay guy to defend her*  
  
Karine:..*glares at Trin's disappearing back*....*looks at crowd*...oh shit...*throws Ebay guy to them*  
  
Ebay Guy: *whimper*_


	8. Memories

**Title: Duty of the Heart   
Chapter Title: Memories 8/?  
Authors: TrinityTheSheDevil and Karine  
Archive: Just ask.  
Rating: Well, *THIS* chapter might not be rated R, but previous ones are, so all you people under 18, NANERNANERNANER! *cough* ;)  
Disclaimer: *Matrix voice*   
Disclaimer boy: Do not try and remove the disclaimer. That's impossible. Instead only try to realize the truth.  
Trin: *blinks* What truth?  
Disclaimer boy: There is no disclaimer.  
Trin: There is no disclaimer?  
Disclaimer boy: Then you'll see that it is not the disclaimer that is removed, it is only yourself...........by a herd full of lawyers.   
In other words, we don't own them. *sigh* Damnit...  
Summary: When Aragorn and Legolas find a young orphan in the woods, they decide to bring him with them to Rivendell. This may be the beginning of a new life for the child. But, for his new life to begin, he must survive the trip first...**   
  
**AN:** Yes this is a repost, since someone that shall remain nameless *coughTcoughRcoughIcoughN* kind of messed up one of MY part, she took the sucky part instead of the long two paragraph sweetness I had written *shake head* So, the two paragraph in italic are the one that weren't there on the other version. And also, the LONG AWAITED chapter NINE shall come very very soon, since after writing this long author rambling, I'm writting the cliffie, errrrr CHAPTER END, yeah so meant that O:)  
  
  
Elrohir wanted to wake up, but each time he tried to open his eyes, a wave of dizziness overtook him. When he finally got up enough strength to crack his eyes open a bit, he noticed Glorfindel sitting in a chair beside the bed.   
  
"I didn't know you had a stubborn streak in you." Glorfindel said, grinning slightly.   
  
Elrohir glared at him with his "say that again and you will die a slow painful death" glare, but because of his condition, it only made Glorfindel chuckle. They both turned toward the door when a very furious Elladan barged into the room.   
  
Without a word, he made his way to his brother's side and cuffed him lightly across the head.   
  
"Don't you DARE withhold the fact that you're poisoned from me again!" He said, half angry, half worried. Elrohir smile slightly at his twin, all the while telling him that it wouldn't happen again.   
  
"How are they going?" Elrohir finally asked, dreading the answer.   
  
"Well, Thomas should be awake soon." Glorfindel began. "Aragorn, well, he is not in a good shape, but he will live. We feared the worse before you arrived, but now he is out of danger. As for Legolas.." He trailed off.   
  
"What about him?" Elladan and Elrohir simultaneity asked, worried beyond limit.   
  
"Well, the only thing well about him is that he breathes. Your father is treating him, we'll know when he is finished."   
  
"I am finished." A voice coming from the door said.   
  
"How are you doing, my son?" Elrond asked when he reached Elrohir's side.   
  
"I'm feeling much better Ada." Elrohir answered.   
  
"I'm glad to hear that. Now, as for Legolas, his injuries are worse then Aragorn due to the fact that he had to battle twice. I managed to call him back to the light. But both he and Aragorn will have a difficult time. I want you two to keep watch over them tonight; Glorfindel will stay with the boy."   
  
Elladan and Elrohir nodded, the elder twin leaving the room to go to Aragorn's one and Elrohir leaving to go to Legolas'.   
  
*********  
  
Thomas moaned slightly, as consciousness returned to him. He was wrapped up in a warm blanket, lying on the softest bed he had ever felt. Water was rushing nearby, giving him the feeling he was lying on a riverbank. Which was actually pretty close, as Rivendell was near a river.  
  
Glorfindel leaned over slightly, watching as the boy awoke. When two blew eyes popped open, it startled the blonde elf.  
  
Thomas looked at Glorfindel and shrieked. He didn't know where he was or who the other elf was, and that frightened him. Where was Aragorn and Legolas?  
  
"Calm down, child. You are safe." Glorfindel said reassuringly.  
  
Thomas made his breathing slow and settled back down onto the bed. He looked around, and found that he was indeed in Rivendell. There were elvish carvings on the bed posts, and tapestries of Elves all around the walls. The room was very airy, letting in the breeze from outside.  
  
He looked back over to Glorfindel, the blonde elf having sat down on the edge of the bed.   
  
"Wh-..who....who're you sir?"   
  
The elf smiled. "I'm Glorfindel. And you are?"  
  
"Thomas." The boy grinned slightly. "It's an honor to meet you Golorofindel."  
  
Glorfindel paused. "It's 'Glorfindel'."  
  
Thomas scrunched up his nose and tried to wrap his lips around the unfamiliar name. "Glorofindwel."  
  
Glorfindel sighed. "Glor-fin-del."  
  
"Glorfy!" Thomas beamed.   
  
The blonde elf smacked himself in the head. The child....was using the old nickname Elladan and Elrohir had used when they were young. Ai, Valar...he suddenly remembered why he stayed away from children.   
  
"Thomas," Glorfindel began. "Can you tell me what happened?"  
  
Thomas' eyes darkened as he recalled the past events. He began telling about how Aragorn and Legolas had found him, and decided to take him with them to Rivendell. Then he told of the Warg attack.  
  
"So these giant wolves tried to eat me." Thomas pouted.  
  
"Wolves? You mean Wargs?"  
  
"Whatever they were, they had bad breath." Glorfindel raised an eyebrow, and gestured for Thomas to continue.   
  
His brows furrowed as he heard of the Orc attack, and Legolas and Aragorn being taken. He was shocked at the amount of detail Thomas was repeating, and horrified that the boy had to witness such actions.   
  
When Thomas got to the part where he had been shot, his voice broke and he started hiccupping. Glorfindel gathered the boy in a hug, rubbing his back and soothing him.   
  
"Shhh, it's okay. You're safe now."  
  
After that, Thomas could tell no more, for he couldn't remember the rest. Glorfindel nodded and gave the boy something to help him sleep, before going to find Elrond and let the elf lord know what had happened to his son.   
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Upon entering in Legolas' room, Elrohir went to sit in HIS chair, for in each of their rooms, there were three chairs. Each time one of them was hurt, the three other would always spend the night with him.   
  
One time, Elrond had entered in Elladan's room the morning after his son had received a poisonous wound. He had tripped over both Legolas and Elrohir's bodies and fell flat on his face. They had explained to him that Aragorn had won the only chair in the room and that they had NO other choice but to sleep on the ground. An hour after, two chairs had been added in all of their rooms.   
  
Elrohir was dragged out of his thoughts when Legolas moaned in pain, but he didn't wake. It seemed like yesterday that this one was still a young elfling. Elladan and he used to tease the boy so much that no one could have believed that they would be friends one day. But now, there they were, both considering Legolas as a brother.   
  
It was why what had happen to Aragorn and Legolas affected the twins greatly, they were both their younger brothers, and they felt that he should protect them. So, as Elrohir saw the extent of the injuries done to Legolas, he felt as if he had failed him. He knew that what had happened the first time he was taken was not his fault, but the second time...   
  
Maybe if Elladan and he had been faster, stronger, he would not had been taken that second time so he still wouldn't be hovering at death's door unlike Aragorn. It would take them a long time to fully heal, but Elrohir would be there for them both as Elladan would.   
  
Elrohir was extremely startled when Legolas began to thrash madly, and he ran to the prince's side, trying to restrain him a little. But that only worsened things and as Elrohir put his hands on the prince, the latter screamed in agony.   
  
A few second later, Aragorn could be heard screaming in the same fashion, and they screamed in unison for a few more seconds. Then, they both stopped at the same time, Legolas falling limp on his bed. He had stopped screaming, but still continued to thrash slightly. Elrohir's soothing words finally came through and Legolas fell asleep, but before he did, he whispered.   
  
"Elrohir."   
  
_Elrohir sat back after having rebound some of Legolas wound, his right wrist being one that needed to be bound again. Elrohir gasped when he saw the mark, and recognize it immediately. It was one that identified you as a slave to the Dark Lord, one that he had seen in his mother's wrist. Tears were flowing openly at the thought of his mother who had suffered greatly into the orc's hands, and now his best friend.   
  
After having rebound what needed to be, Elrohir drop himself in his chair, now more then ever wishing to exterminate the orc's population. Hearing a faint noise outside, Elrohir got up and went to look through the window. Outside he saw King Thranduil dismounting and following his father inside the house._  
  
*********   
  
Elladan sat back in the chair and studied the form on the bed. Bandages covered the young human from head to toe, literally. Aragorn wouldn't be able to lift anything for a long while, neither would he be able to walk without help. The whip marks on his back and legs would take a long time to heal, as would the arrow wound. Elladan vowed to be there with his brother, every second of the recovery. Although, the human would probably have something to say about that. Elladan chuckled. He and his twin were quite the mother hens where Estel was concerned. As was Elrond.  
  
The older twin sighed and leaned forward, putting his chin in his hands. He couldn't begin to fathom the torture that Estel had been through. Orcs were ruthless beings, they thrived on pain and suffering. His thoughts turned to his mother, having sailed over the sea long before Estel was born. The unspeakable actions they did to her grated on his mind, causing a tear to slip from his eye. He hoped he did not lose his brother to those vile creatures. His hatred increased with each passing moment, fists clenching into his cheeks until they drew small drops of blood, which mingled with the tears before falling onto the floor.   
  
Elladan was snapped out of his thoughts by the slight moaning of Aragorn. The figure on the bed twitched suddenly, before thrashing around in the sheets. Bandages were ripped out of place as Aragorn tried to flee from whatever nightmare held him in it's clutches.   
  
"Aragorn, it's okay!" Elladan tried to hold the flailing body down, and winced when a fist caught him in the eye. "Shhhh, you're safe now. You're home! Wake up Aragorn!"  
  
Another fist in a more sensitive spot caused Elladan to groan out loud, and tighten his hold on his brother. He had to stop Aragorn before the ranger tore the stitches apart. Which, it seemed the human already had, as blood started staining the white sheets to a dark shade of red.  
  
Elladan jumped slightly when Aragorn screamed, matching the sound of another scream down the hall. Suddenly, the sounds stopped, and Estel went limp in the older elf's arms. Elladan soon got over his shock and gently laid Aragorn back onto the bed. He cursed all the Orcs to Mordor before checking his brother's wounds again.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Elrond stood before his mirror, hating himself. His son was lying on a bed having just gone through one of the worst experiences one could live through, as did Legolas, and he hadn't done a thing. He knew of the pain Aragorn had been through.....seen a glimpse of it in his own mind. Yet he did nothing. He sent no warriors to find them, did not form a search party, or even go out himself.  
  
And because he did nothing, his son was scarred. He had seen the branding on Aragorn's wrist, and knew that this would be something that Aragorn would never truly get over. It would always be a dark mark against his heart, the monster lurking in the shadows of his mind.   
  
'Did you learn nothing from Celebrian?!' Elrond mentally yelled at himself.  
  
'Yes, but you did not want to face facts, that your son could be dead before you get to him. You did not want to find his mutilated body, and know that you could do nothing for him. You didn't want to lose him as you lost your love.' A voice in the back of his head said.  
  
Elrond sighed, and shook his head, telling the voices to shut up. He hoped Aragorn could forgive him. Forgive him for his failure as a protector, and as a father.  
  
A tear spilt over his cheek, and Elrond hastily wiped it away. Giving into his anger, his frustration, his guilt, he balled his fist up and slammed it into the mirror. It busted into thousands of tiny shards, covering the floor. Blood seeped from several cuts in his hand, but he welcomed the pain. It showed him that, although he was an elf, he was still human.  
  
Two screams sounded in unison down the hall, and Elrond quickly forgot the pain, fleeing the room to find out what was wrong.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Thranduil had made it to Rivendell in record time, leaving his guards far behind in his haste to arrive to the Last Homely House. His advisors had dared to tell him that he was more needed here, that there was important matter that needed to be overseen. He had left anyway, not before throwing his advisors a glare that kept the spiders far from his kingdom. He could be accused of many things, but he would never abandoned his son when he needed him.   
  
The second he dismounted, Elrond was there, and Thranduil followed him inside to the Hall of Fire. Inside, they both sat up and skipping the formality, Thranduil asked worriedly.   
  
"Was it them that I heard screaming on my way here?" There was no need to ask who "them" was and Elrond answered simply.   
  
"Yes, it was them. I went to see why just before you arrived, it seems that they both had a nightmare, but I had asked my sons to stay with them, they took care of it."   
  
"What happened Elrond, what happened to my son?"   
  
Elrond proceeded to tell him all that Glorfindel had heard from the boy. When they had met the boy, the warg attack, the battle with the orcs and their fall. Then Elrond told him what had happen during their sons' captivity but with great difficulty. At this point in the story, Thranduil's grip on the armchair was so strong that his knuckles were white, his face stiffened and Elrond could see fear in the King's eyes.   
  
Thranduil relax a little when Elrond spoke of the escape, but returned to his worried/angered stage when Elrond told that he didn't know how Aragorn was shot and what happened after. What Elrond knew for sure is that they had encountered orcs on the way back to Rivendell and that Legolas had stayed behind to fight the orcs while Aragorn and the boy escaped.   
  
"That is my son, always ensuring the safety of others before his." Thranduil whispered and motioned to Elrond to continue.   
  
"When Aragorn stumbled here with the boy in his arm, he managed to tell us that Legolas was alone and with orcs, so I sent my sons to bring him back. When they reached to orcs, it seem that Legolas was hiding in the trees, but he fell and was dragged away while most of the orcs stayed behind to fight my sons. When they killed the orcs, they went after him. It took them a few minutes to dispose of the orcs that had taken him, but he had already given up. I managed to call him back to the light though, and now he is "sleeping"."   
  
Then Elrond gave him a detailed account of the injuries his son had and Thranduil blanched when he heard about the mark his son now bore on his wrist.   
  
No more words were needed, and after Elrond had finished, Thranduil got up, followed by Elrond. They both went to take the places of the twins and both spent the night at their son's side.   
  
------------------------------------------------  
  
_TBC...........................................maybe.................now where'd that Disclaimer Boy go....gotta bone to pick with him....*wanders off_  
  



	9. Bounding

**Title:** Duty of the Heart  
  
**Chapter Title:** Bounding 9/?  
  
**Authors:** TrinityTheSheDevil and Karine   
  
**Archive:** Just ask.   
  
**Rating:** Meh, the fic in his entity is rated between PG-13 and R, with warning for the R rated chapter.   
  
**Disclaimer:** How many time must we get through this, we don't and never will own them, sheesh, these lawyers are definitely getting on our nerves…..   
  
**Summary:** When Aragorn and Legolas find a young orphan in the woods, they decide to bring him with them to Rivendell. This may be the beginning of a new life for the child. But, for his new life to begin, he must survive the trip first...   
  
*********************************  
  
Glorfindel rubbed a weary hand over his tired face. Beside him sat the twin sons of Elrond, both rigid with worry and stress. They had decided to search the nearby human villages, to see if Thomas had any living relatives.  
  
This had been Glorfindel's idea since the golden haired elf knew that the small villages around the valley were inhabited by rangers or ranger' family. Besides, it would be good for the twins to get out of Rivendell and actually do something beside pacing in the Hall of Fire.  
  
"Remember, he's five years old. His father was a Ranger who went by the name of Thalion. Both of his parents were killed by Orcs."  
  
The twins hung their heads, sympathy filling their hearts for the one so young who had lost so much. They knew that, although Celebrian had sailed, they would see her again. Thomas did not have that chance.  
  
After Glorfindel bid them good luck and promised that he would send word to them if something was to happen to either Aragorn or Legolas, the twins left for the stables, hoping that they would find someone who knew Thomas.  
  
The balrog slayer watched the twins depart, a trail of dust settling in their wake. The moon was already high in the sky, and the stars twinkled brightly overhead. Silence had fallen; only the soft croaks of frogs and the buzz of insects filled the air.  
  
Taking a deep breath, Glorfindel tried to let the tension leave his body. After a few moments, he turned, but was halted when a scream pierced the air.  
  
"GLORFY!"  
  
Glorfindel didn't wait a second and ran back into the house, heading for Thomas' room.   
  
He had just went through the doorframe when the boy latched onto the elf, nearly sending them both to the ground. Glorfindel tried to pry the boy off of him, to get a look at him, but the boy wouldn't let go of is death grip so the elf sat on the bed and asked him what was wrong.   
  
When the boy's only answer was muffled sobs, Glorfindel asked the boy if he just had a nightmare, which was answered by a slight nod.  
  
The elf sighed a bit, having given up on trying to remove Thomas' arms from around his neck. He really had no experience with children; that was something better left to Elrond. Yet, the elf lord was attending to Estel, and Glorfindel was stuck with Thomas. Not that he was complaining, he just didn't feel as comfortable with the child as someone who had already fathered three elflings and a human.  
  
"Do you wish to talk about it?" He asked slowly, not wanting to push the child too much.  
  
The child nodded then slowly pulled himself a little off of Glorfindel then began to recount his nightmare.  
  
"I was sitting at the table with my parents, we were playing and laughing. Then, without warning, the orcs came into the kitchen and killed my parents. A second after, I wasn't at my home anymore, I was in the woods and all around were you, Elrond, Legolas and Aragorn; they seemed to be sleeping so I went and shook them but none of them woke up, they were all dead, all of them. Then, the orcs came and were about to hit me when I woke up." After saying all of his nightmare in one breath, Thomas began to sob pitifully.  
  
"Aw, child. You are safe here. Aragorn, Legolas, Elrond, and myself are alive." Glorfindel wrapped his arms firmly around the boy, sending as much love and comfort as he could. Thomas wrapped his arms securely around Glorfindel's neck once more, tears dampening the elder elf's shirt.  
  
Glorfindel felt awkward in that situation, but somehow, it just felt right. He didn't really know what to do, so he did what he had sometime done with the twins; he rocked them and sang an elvish lullaby. When the boy was asleep, Glorfindel tucked him in bed, placed a chair by the side of the bed, and sat there, fully intended on staying with the child throughout the night.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Elrond blinked slowly, waking up from his light doze. Aragorn was curled in his arms, the human's head pillowed on his chest. He smiled, brushing a hand through the dark hair. Throughout the night, Aragorn had called out several times, thrashing about. Elrond feared that the human would cause further damage to himself, so he had held him, soothing him when the nightmares and visions attacked his mind.  
  
The wounds would take a long time to heal; Elrond worried over Estel's hands. If not healed correctly, Estel may never wield a sword or bow again. Something that would crush the young human's heart. Aragorn's body was covered in bandages, the white cloth matching pale skin.  
  
Elrond was jerked out of his thoughts when he felt the young boy stir. The elf Lord could see from the way Estel's pupils were moving behind his eyelids that he was trying to wake up, but somehow couldn't.  
  
----------  
  
Dark. Pain. Confusion. Aragorn was met with these feelings, swirling about him in a haze of clouds, as he tried to figure out where he was. He somehow felt warm and safe, but those feelings were far off; the pain dominated his body, causing him to shudder violently.  
  
A soft voice intruded on the scene, full of love and comfort. Slowly, little by little, the pain receded, and light battled darkness, until finally, it was bright as day. Cautiously blinking, he opened his eyes, and was met with clear pools of grey and a brilliant smile.  
  
"Welcome back, Estel."  
  
Estel tried to answer but his voice was caught in his throat. He finally managed to croak one word.  
  
"Legolas."   
  
"Legolas is fine Estel, he is in his room with his father." Elrond said while he handed a glass of water to his son.  
  
Elrond remembered the wounds on Aragorn's hands, berating himself. He gently lifted Estel's head, helping him sip the water.  
  
"Not too much, you don't want to make yourself sick." Elrond warned.  
  
After a few more swallows, Estel finally felt as if the desert had moved from his mouth. "Hannon le, ada."  
  
"You are welcome." Elrond said softly. "I've feared for you my son, you nearly didn't make it. It's all my fault; I should have sent help for you." Elrond suddenly said, dropping his head in his hands.  
  
"No it isn't ada, you had no way of knowing what was happening." Aragorn said, raising his voice slightly.  
  
"That is where you are wrong my son." Elrond said while Estel's eyes widened in surprise.   
  
Elrond proceeded to tell Aragorn about the vision he had, and that he hadn't sent warriors as he should have. As the elf lord resumed to ramble on and on about how it was his fault, Estel had had enough and raised his hand to cut his father off.  
  
To be perfectly honest with himself, Aragorn had to admit that he did resent the fact that his father hadn't done a thing. But he couldn't exactly put the blame on him.  
  
"Ada, daro!" Aragorn winced when he shifted, turning to fully face his father. "It was not your fault. Unless you commanded those Orcs to take Legolas and I, you are not to blame. Yes, you could have sent warriors, but they would have never made it on time. You helped us where it counts, and because of that, we are alive."  
  
Aragorn slowly lifted Elrond's face to meet his own, and was surprised when he saw the tears coursing down the elven lords fair skin. Guilt was evident in the old eyes, and suddenly, Aragorn saw every year etched onto his father's face, making the young face look very old.  
  
Slowly, Aragorn wrapped his arms around his father, ignoring his body's complaints and pulled him into a tight hug which Elrond returned gently, careful not to hurt the boy.   
  
Their tender moment was cut short when they heard someone yell from the other room.   
  
"LEGOLAS THRANDUILION YOU ARE NOT GETTING OFF THAT BED"   
  
Quickly followed by:  
  
"WATCH ME!"  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Legolas slid over, slowly trying to get out of bed. Thranduil gritted his teeth, pushing his stubborn son back down.  
  
"You will keep your elf butt in that bed, or so help me, you will be grounded for ten years!"  
  
"I don't care, I'm going to Aragorn." Legolas muttered, trying to fight off the pain and nausea.  
  
It wasn't that Legolas didn't trust his father when he said that Aragorn was safe, he just needed to see for himself.   
  
Legolas had awoken at the same time as Aragorn, and the first thing he did was ask about his human friend. But there had been the reunion with his father and how his father had blamed himself for everything that had happened to Legolas. The prince had then asked angrily if his father was an orc; Thranduil had been taken aback by the question but the point had came across, in no way was the King was responsible for what had happened.  
  
But, Legolas' question about Aragorn was still unanswered and when he asked his father, Thranduil had simply replied that Aragorn was fine. But Legolas would have none of it, there was no way his friend could be fine right now and he had demanded to see for himself, which had brought this whole argument between father and son.  
  
"Look Adar, I'm going to see him whether you like it or not. So you either help me or let me go by myself and risk hurting myself more." Legolas declared.  
  
Thranduil shook his head, but finally complied with his son's demands and helped him get to the young human's room.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Aragorn looked up as Legolas was half carried into the room and deposited on the side of his bed. Elrond quickly moved to help Thranduil secure the young elf beside Aragorn, chuckling quietly to himself. Thranduil glared at Elrond; 'If looks could kill,' Elrond mused, 'I would be dead on the spot.'  
  
"Thank you, Ada." Legolas said wearily, taking a moment to catch his breath. Opening his eyes once again, he looked at he amused _expression on Aragorn's face, and scowled slightly.  
  
"I see you are fine, human."  
  
"And I see you are faring well."  
  
Legolas laughed lightly, reaching over to embrace his friend. "You had me worried, mellon nin."  
  
"As did you." Aragorn sighed. "I fear we're going to drive our fathers insane."  
  
"No doubt about that." Thranduil murmured while Legolas quietly replied something that sounded oddly like. "Already there."  
  
Aragorn smiled, looking over towards the window. "Ada ... what of Thomas?"  
  
"Thomas will be fine. Glorfindel has sent Elladan and Elrohir out to search for anyone who could be related to him. For the moment, Glorfindel is caring for the boy, and I believe they have become quite attached to each other."  
  
Aragorn nodded, settling back onto the bed. "That's....that's good. Thank him for me." His breathing evened out as he fell asleep, exhaustion taking it's toll on his body.  
  
Legolas shook his head and was about to say something, when Thranduil glared. "You. Rest. Now."  
  
"But-"  
  
Thranduil continued to glare.  
  
"Fine." Legolas settled down beside Aragorn, slowly getting comfortable. Sleep came to him sooner than he would have thought, and he drifted off to a quiet dreamland.  
  
Elrond and Thranduil shared a glance with each other before slowly walking out of the room, softly closing the door.  
  
There had been a lot of improvement in both the human and the elf's health and Elrond had been glad to see that Aragorn's hand, despite his worse fears, had been healing quite well and would heal completely given time. Legolas' hand had also been badly damaged but due to Aragorn's timely treating on them when they had escaped, they would also heal fine which resulted in a very relieved Prince. All of their other injuries were also healing, but there would be a lot of scars left.  
  
Thomas' injury had also healed quite well and after the first two days, he became the bundle of energy he was when Aragorn and Legolas first met him. Which is what brought him and Glorfindel to be sitting in the courtyard despite the fact that the sun hadn't even risen yet.  
  
Their game of wooden soldiers was interrupted by the sound of hooves entering passing through the gate. Both looked up just in time to see two horses pass by. Two rider-less horses. Two rider-less horses that belonged to Elladan and Elrohir.  
  
**************************  
  
**_Okay, yeah, so...the fic is kind of winding down. A few chapters left. At first, we weren't *really* going to put a cliffie here. But....we can't be that nice! I mean...being evil is too much fun! =D  
  
Eh heh.........eh heh.........  
  
Trin: *Blinks* *looks at angry readers* Right then...*hops on the Andromeda Ascendent, leaves Kar on Black Pearl, flies away to another galaxy*  
  
Kar: *watches as Black Pearl is over run by readers*..................crap  
  
[An Hour Later]  
  
Trin: *looks up from piloting Andromeda* *notices Kar walking in*............  
  
Kar: phase density shifting  
  
Trin: ....oh crap...you know I was just kidding right? Right? You're my best friend Kar! *RUNS LIKE HELL*_**  
  
**Reviews :D**  
  
**Legolas's fanatical fan girl~** "Let Leggy live?" *blink* But Aragorn is so much better! ;) Yeah, okay, he *might* live. Maybe. We might kill him off later. For the heck of it. Because we're like that. LMAO.  
  
**Songbird~** Yes, we need to make them better so we can hurt them again. And again. And again. And again. And aga-...well you get the idea.  
  
**Nilbrethiliel~** Yes, don't treat Trin too bad. Trin rules. She's the coolest. eh heh..j/k...and who would want to join Sauron when we have taken over the Void and Hell? >=)   
  



	10. A New Beginning

**Title:** Duty of the Heart   
  
**Chapter Title:** A New Beginning | 10/10  
  
**Authors:** TrinityTheSheDevil and Karine  
  
**Archive:** Just ask!  
  
**Rating:** Come on, this fic is written by Kar, who took over The Void and is a Cliffie Queen and me, who took over Hell and is a torture master. If you see a fic written by her and/or me that is rated below PG-13, run away in terror.  
  
**Disclaimer:** WE OWN A CHARACTER!! HAHAHA!! NANERNANERNANER!! THOMAS IS OURS!! *looks at a certain character* Er ... I mean ... er ... well. *runs while yelling over shoulder* WE OWN NOBODY!!  
  
**Summary:** When Aragorn and Legolas find a young orphan in the woods, they decide to bring him with them to Rivendell. This may be the beginning of a new life for the child. But, for his new life to begin, he must survive the trip first...   
**Chapter Ten**  
  
Glorfindel, with Thomas in tow, nearly ran up to the horses, the wooden soldiers long forgotten. Both horses seemed pretty shaken up, but after a few soothing words in elvish, the horses were back to their calm self.   
  
"Stay there little one, I'm going to lead the horses to the stable." Glorfindel said and left as soon as the boy had nodded.   
  
Thomas, who, like every five years old child, had absolutely no patience in him. Instead he was a very curious boy and to his small self, the path beyond the Gate was looking extremely tempting.  
  
He fidgeted in place for a few seconds before deciding that only a few steps toward the Gate would not matter. By the time he was done telling that to himself, he had reached the Gate.   
  
He abruptly stopped when he realized that he had actually reached them, and he looked up, taking in the massive archway of the realm. Suddenly, his courage left him and he looked back at the retreating form of Glorfindel, wondering if he should call out to him or act like "a big boy" and make it to him by himself.   
  
He was jerked out of his thoughts when he heard something that sounded oddly like whispers. He snapped his head toward the noise and smiled brightly when he realized that it was one of the twins.   
  
"Elro...no...Ella...err. TWINS!" He happily screeched.   
  
Glorfindel stop dead in his tracks and turned back, grinning when a muttered curse floated to his ears. He immediately knew why the horses had arrived riderless; the twins must had sent them first so they could sneak in when everyone's attention would be on the horses.   
  
"My my my, two of the most sneakiest warriors of Rivendell caught by a five year old _human_ boy." Glorfindel said snickering slightly then more loudly when he received two dark glares for his jest.   
  
But, Glorfindel sobered when he took in the serious expression that both twins now bore. He locked eyes with Elladan and followed him when the younger elf nodded to a further from Thomas and moved there.   
  
Thomas was oblivious to that little conspiracy and looked up to the remaining twin.   
  
"So, which twin are you?" He suddenly asked.   
  
Elrohir laugh softly at the tactless child and answered.   
  
"Well, I'm glad you came back when you did Elrohir, since," The boy actually looked around before resuming in a mere whisper, "That gate is scary alone."   
  
Elrohir smiled down at the boy, his eyes full of compassion and said,  
  
"Well, I'm here now."   
  
Thomas nodded, then proceed to give one of his best flying hugs.   
  
Elrohir, who was not expected this, gasped and then winced as the boy's head collided with his broken ribs.   
  
"You're hurt." The boy stated when he felt something was wrong.   
  
"Shhh, I'm fine Tommy." Elrohir said, smiling nervously.   
  
"No you're not!! You are hurt and you have to let Elrond make you better!!" The boy yelled.   
  
Thomas' outburst had done what Elrohir had feared the most: it got Elladan's attention. And even if he couldn't exactly see his twin, Elrohir was sure that he was narrowing his eyes at him.   
  
Glorfindel, who had heard Thomas and then felt the tension building, had swiftly walked over to Thomas and scooped him in his arms.   
  
"What about me?" Elrohir exclaimed, sounding very much like a little elfling.   
  
"Nu uh, I am definitely *not* standing between your brother and you again. It always ends badly for me." Glorfindel said, grinning from one pointy ear to the other.   
  
Elrohir's expression fell, and he cringed when he saw Elladan advance toward him.   
  
"Why didn't you tell me." Elladan hissed through gritted teeth.   
  
"Because it's nothing?"   
  
"That is *not* a good reason El. Last time you told me one of your injury was "nothing" you ended up staying one week in a near coma state because it was POISONED. " Elladan's anger suddenly left him, and was replaced by sadness and worry. "With everything happening right now with Aragorn and Legolas, I don't want anything to happen to you also, and that includes hiding injuries from me."   
  
Elrohir was taken aback by his twin's confession, and he started to feel somewhat guilty.   
  
"I'm sorry" He whispered, gently hugging his brother.   
  
"I know" Elladan replied while returning the hug.   
  
"Now, you go to Ada now and get your injury treated." Elladan said.   
  
"But.."   
  
"Don't make me drag you to him 'Ro." He said smirking.   
  
"You won't, and can't, I'm an injured elf!" Elrohir exclaimed, and shrank back when he took in the mischievous' glint in his twin's eyes.   
  
"You were fine enough to hide it from me for half a day, so that excuse won't work little brother." Elladan said.   
  
"Fine, I'm going." The younger twin said, sticking out his tongue at Elladan and then headed for the house, with his twin one step behind him.   
  


*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

  
  
Elrohir cringed as he looked at the faces turned towards him in the room. Elrond was currently wrapping bandages snuggly about his middle, glaring at him the whole time. (Not a normal glare either; Elrond was letting loose one of his "I-have-eyebrows-and-I-will-use-them-to-put-the-fear-of-the-Valar-in-you" glares.) A few steps away, Elladan's look would have smoldered him on the spot if possible. And last but not least, Aragorn and Legolas glared from the beds in the room. Glorfindel sat bouncing Thomas on his knee, while Thranduil looked on with an amused expression. The Mirkwood king was now grateful he did not have twin sons that attracted danger like bees to honey.  
  
"I can't believe you, Elrohir. First you get hurt, THEN you hide it from Elladan." Aragorn said.  
  
"And if you could have, I bet you would have hidden it from all of us. Why you insist on putting yourself in danger like that is beyond me..." Legolas' darkened his glare.  
  
Elrond snorted, looking at the two lying on the beds. "As if the two of you are any better!"  
  
Thankfully, the two had enough sense to look slightly ashamed, so Elrond continued as he finished wrapping Elrohir up. "We are here now, to discuss the placing of Thomas." Aragorn noted his father had switched to elvish when he said this.  
  
"Elrohir, Elladan, if you'll be so kind as to tell us what transpired on the journey to and from the town, and if you found anything."  
  
"The journey to town was uneventful, and quite boring." Elladan started. "When we got there, we asked almost everybody we came upon. Several people were grieved to know that Thomas' parents died; those that knew them told us the boy has no other living relatives." Elladan paused. "We asked around, to see if anybody was willing to take him in. There was no one."  
  
"Glorfy!" Thomas whispered, tugging on Glorfindel's sleeve.  
  
"Yes Thomas?"  
  
"What are they saying?" Thomas pointed to the others, who were conversing in elvish.  
  
"Nothing important, young one." Glorfindel smiled as Thomas pouted slightly.  
  
"Will you teach me elvish, Glorfy?"  
  
Glorfindel had to admit, the question had come quite suddenly. "We'll see."  
  
Pleased with the answer, Thomas leaned back against the elder elf's chest, watching the going-ons with increasingly sleepy eyes.  
  
"On the way home," Elrohir continued, "We encountered what was left of the previous battle. A handful of Orcs who were desperate to escape to a haven of which to hide and lick their wounds. None now remain."  
  
Elrond nodded, looking thoughtful. "So he has nobody left, and nowhere to call home now."  
  
"Perhaps you could check nearby villages, for someone who would adopt him." Aragorn spoke up quietly.  
  
"Yes, that's a good idea. If nothing else, I could take the child in myself, though I loathe to do so now." Elrond's eyes briefly tracked over to Thomas.  
  
At this moment, Glorfindel looked down, and realized Thomas had fallen asleep, with one tiny hand clutching the elf's sleeve. With a start, Glorfindel realized something. Something his heart had steadily been trying to tell him.  
  
"I ... I want to keep him."  
  
Glorfindel looked up. If it had been any other situation, the view of everybody's jaw in the room hitting the floor would have been comical.  
  
"Are you sure, mellon nin? Having a child, even an adopted one, is not an easy task." Elrond gave a mock glare to Aragorn, who put on his best innocent face.  
  
"I know that, Elrond, as I helped to raise *your* children. And yes, I am quite sure. He has become dear to me." Glorfindel smiled. "Although, I have not a clue as to how that happened."  
  
"We will, of course, have to ask Thomas his opinion. But I'm sure we could work this out." Elrond grinned mischievously. "Good luck, Glorfindel. For I think you will need it."  
  
Across the room, Aragorn snickered. "Another child in Rivendell! Finally, I shall not be the youngest one here!"  
  
"That may be true, my friend, but you will still be the biggest trouble magnet." Legolas laughed. "I hope."  
  
Glorfindel started, looking in horror at Thomas, then at Aragorn. "There is no way in Arda that I am letting Thomas near you! I do not want him picking up bad habits..."  
  
As if on cue, Thomas began stirring in his arms. He yawned and looked around.  
  
"Are all the grown-ups done talking, Glorfy?" Thomas rubbed the sleep out of his eyes, then snuggled against Glorfindel's arm once more.  
  
"Now that it is decided, we should ask the boy's opinion." Elrond said then turned to look at the boy.   
  
"Thomas, we have just discussed about where you should live and have come to a conclusion." Elrond said in a formal voice.   
  
Thomas looked up to the elf lord, his fearful eyes settling on Elrond's ones.   
  
"What have… what have you decided?" He said, his childish voice trembling slightly.   
  
"Glorfindel said that he would want you to live with him, here in Rivendell, if you accept."   
  
Thomas gasped and said,  
  
"You mean that I can?" Thomas asked incredulously, his trembling tone now sounding over excited.  
  
"Of course, you have become dear to us all and it would warm our hearts to have you here in Rivendell." Elrond said, smiling warmly at the child.   
  
Thomas' ecstatic yelled easily answered the questions asked and the boy turned and hugged Glorfindel with all of his might.   
  
"I love you Glorfy." the boy whispered in the elf's ear.   
  
"I love you too boy." Glorfindel replied.   
  
The "father and son" scene brought a smile to everyone's lips, as Aragorn sigh with relief.   
  
"Why the sighing?" Legolas asked his long time friend.   
  
"I did it Legolas. Ever since I learned that he was the son of one of my rangers, I promised myself that I would care for him until a solution could be found. And," He then nodded toward Glorfindel and Thomas, "I couldn't have done better."   
  
Legolas smiled at Aragorn.   
  
"I completely agree mellon nin."  
  
**

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

**  
  
-A Few Months Later-  
  
Aragorn groaned, settling himself down on the grass and lying against a large tree. It had been five months since he and Legolas had found Thomas that fateful day; now, as it were, the boy had happily settled into life in Rivendell. Thankfully, the elves that were younger when Aragorn was a boy had grown quite a bit, and no longer resented humans as they did him.  
  
The physical wounds Aragorn and Legolas carried had healed over, though at times Aragorn was left with a weariness that annoyed him greatly after doing strenous tasks. Other wounds, the ones that weren't visible, still plagued them occasionally and frequented their dreams. As time passed though, the dreams faded like a morning mist; the things that did not fade, however, were the memories and the brands that marked Aragorn and Legolas' arms. They would carry those for the rest of their lives.  
  
Aragorn was startled as Glorfindel ran past, followed quickly by Thomas. He noted that both were wearing only leggings cut off to the knees. His eyebrows raised slightly.  
  
"Come on Aragorn! The twins said Legolas was bathing in the river, ada and I are gonna dunk him under water a few times! Hurry!" Thomas' shrieked in laughter, pushing his legs faster.  
  
Aragorn grinned and stood up, running along. Some things never changed...  
  
**THE FRIGGIN END!**  
_*Kar comfortably sitting on The Void's Throne, with Trin comfortably sitting on armchair of said Throne, both looking half dead*   
  
K&T: IT'S DOOOOONNNNNEEEEEE, after NINE months we finally actually finished it!!!   
  
Kar: This was a fun fic to write…   
  
Trin: full of torture…   
  
Kar: and it's not like there was THAT many cliffies in it…   
  
Trin: riiiiiiight *ONLY* seven cliffies out of ten chapters..   
  
Kar: *grins* only THAT, damn, I'm loosing my touch, next fic, I'm aiming for a perfect score >:)!!!!!!!   
  
Anyway, we are "considering" writing a few ficlets of Thomas' life in Rivendell, but, considering that the last ficlets ideas we both had separately always ended up in enormous fics, we'll see how it goes. Thanks to all who reviewed this fic, this was always appreciated :D   
  
_ **Reviews :D**  
  
**Desertrain~** Thanks a bunch :D It's done now. We hope that you liked the end!  
  
**MagickalStar135~** Thanks :D You no likes our cliffies >:)!!!  
  
**Wilwarin~** We're glad that you loved this fic that much :D And we're honored that you want to put quotes from our fic on your site. If you actually do/did send us the url so we can check it out :D  
  
**Oracle10~** Aww, don't die, this is a little late but it's here at last!  
  
**Firniswin~** We're glad that you loved this fic, and we had nothing THAT bad happen to our fav twins ;)  
  



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